Who is Shadow the Hedgehog?
by NostalgicBeings
Summary: After the fall of the Space Colony Ark, Sonic and Tails discover a black hedgehog who had been trapped in a cryogenic chamber for 50 years.
1. The awakening

A light beeping sounded as Sonic cautiously walked through the abandoned base. Skeletons and bones littered the metal hallways.

Giving a quick tap to his earpiece to radio in back to headquarters, the hedgehog stopped in his tracks to take in his surroundings.

"_Sonic? Are you in the base yet?" _Tails voice sounded out of his earpiece.

Sonic nodded, knowing his adoptive brother couldn't see him he answered,"yeah, where am I going bud? This place is giving me the creeps."

The foxes voice hesitated, yet stayed as strong as he could muster. "_Sorry, Sonic. I just.. couldn't leave this alone._"

"No worries, bud. I just want to get in and get out as soon as possible. So where should I head?"

"_Right, sorry. Okay, head all the way down until you find a four-way intersection. Take a right and the third door on your left is where the project is. Now I don't know what it looks like, but I'm sure you'll know what it is when you come across it."_

Giving a quick thanks, Sonic ended the transmission. He resumed walking through the broken down, rusted base.

The base the cobalt hedgehog was roaming was indeed the once enamored Space Colony ARK. After the raid almost 50 years ago, the space colony fell under great stress from the planet's gravitational pull and soon after came hurdling towards Mobius. If Sonic hadn't gone into his super form and slowed the decent to the ground, the space colony would have wiped out millions of Mobians.

A sigh left peach lips as he gazed upon the many humans that were slaughtered in the raid of the base all those years ago. Many still wore their lab coats and other articles of clothing.

Turning right, Sonic counted the doors until he came up to the third door on the left. Bracing himself for the hunt for the project Tails had been researching. What this thing could even _possibly _look like escaped him. He had no clue as to what he was looking for. It could be _huge _or incredibly _small._

Nonetheless, he promised his brother he would get what he came here for. Taking one last breath, the hedgehog turned the handle of the door and opened it. The metal door creaked open with mild resistance.

A quick glance around the room made Sonic feel all the more comfortable walking in as he didn't see an immediate threat. Taking a chance, he strolled in, checking every corner of the room before stopping by an incredibly large... fish tank?

The blue hedgehog frowned, thinking to himself before he gave a sharp yelp and nearly jumped out of his fur as a shadowy figure moved inside of it. The dust covering the large tank made it hard for his emerald eyes to see what _exactly _had moved inside.

Using the fabric of his glove, he wiped across the circular glass and gasped when he saw what looked like a mirror image of himself. The only noticeable difference being the creature's dark fur and maroon markings on his limbs and upward turned quills.

Sonic squinted at the figure inside the glass. It seemed to be filled with a grossly colored green ooz while wires and tubes connected to the creature inside.

Knowing he shouldn't touch any of the panels to release the creature for fear of hurting it, Sonic radioed Tails and requested back up. The twin tailed fox was waiting outside of the base by the bi-plane, but Sonic knew his intellect in machinery would help tremendously.

The fox kit soon appeared in the room Sonic was in and immediately spotted the figure inside the ooz filled tank.

"What _is _that?" The younger of the two questioned, his mind racing to try and find an explanation. Nothing in the protected notes he delicately 'acquired' (stole) from Eggman's computer said anything about a _synthetic hedgehog._

Sonic shrugged as he tapped lightly on the floor with his shoe,"I was hoping you could tell me. This think nearly made me crap my pants. Well. If I wore pants."

Tails looked at Sonic oddly,'what is he talking about?' Shaking his head, he began to search for a port to connect his Miles Electric to alleviate and bypass the system that connected to the tank the creature was connected to.

Sonic watched as his brother tapped away at the screen when a loud drainage noise caught his attention. The gross ooz in the chamber was sinking through a drain at the bottom of the tank, it continued to disperse until the creature was sitting limply on the floor.

With a clanging sound, the glass door of the tank opened and the stench from the inside made Sonic nearly gag. The ooz smelled just as badly as it _looked._ Giving Tails a nod, the fox pushed a few more buttons and the tubes and wires connected to the now presumably Mobian hedgehog detached themselves and hung from the ceiling of the tank.

Both boys gave a worried glance to the other as Sonic kneeled down cautiously, reaching out his gloved hand to touch the ebony hedgehog. Even through his glove, Sonic could feel the coldness of the other's face.

"Tails.. are we sure he's alive?"

Tails suddenly looked horrified, quickly checking the vitals on his Miles Electric to make sure he didn't see incorrectly. A quick sigh indicated that the hedgehog was in fact _alive._

_"_We should take him. It wouldn't be right to leave him here."

"I think we should take him to a hospital, Sonic. It's more reasonable than our house," the fox offered, thinking it was the best option of the two.

Sonic seemed to agree, leaning over to grab the ooz sogged hedgehog and lift him into his arms. Some of the ooz soaked onto Sonic's fur but he ignored it as he and his kid brother walked to the entrance of the base.

The warmth Sonic's body held was seemingly drawing the ebony hedgehog in his arms closer to his body.

"You can put him in the cockpit behind my chair. It's the safest way to transport him while we're in the air," Tails hopped onto his plane, using his tails to propel him. Sonic nodded and placed his new found friend into the cockpit and secured him in. After he finished, he hopped onto the right wing of the plane and signaled that he was ready for take off with a thumbs up.

...

The beeping of the heart monitor connected by wires to the black hedgehog made Sonic sick at the thought of the poor being connected to test tubes again.

'_Was he ever able to get out of the tank he was held in? Does he even have a name? The only thing I'm _sure _of is the fact that the hedgehog is a boy!' _Sonic thought in vain as he stared at the boy in front of him.

The doctors at the hospital were informed of the predicament the ebony male was in and did their best to help him. They were confused when his DNA didn't seem to match normal hedgehog DNA, but they helped to the best of their abilities.

Tails had went home to gather all the data he could on his Miles Electric and returned to the hospital room to share his findings.

"—so, they called it Project S.h.a.d.o.w. but they never seemed to give him," Tails pointed to the being in the bed,"an actual name. They just refer to him as the 'project'. It doesn't look like he was ever released from the confinement of the tank, but he was awake and lucid. There are reports of him interacting with a young girl, but he was never taught to speak or even breathe without the help of the wires that were connected from him."

Sonic sighed, his ears lowering slightly,"so he never had a life and then he was trapped in a tank for fifty years. That's _one _way to be brought into this world."

Looking up from his device, Tails noticed the concern and worry plastered on his friends face,"Sonic, why do I feel like you got really attached _really _fast?"

Giving a light chuckle and whole hearted smile, the blue hedgehog shrugged,"this just.. bothers me. You know? Like.. how are you going to bring a whole being to life and then not let him _live it? _I swear bud, when he wakes up, I'm going to show him the world."

Finding the oddly fast attachment a little off putting, Tails nods at his friends proclaimation, resuming his research on his tablet.

...

Weeks had passed by before they received information regarding the black hedgehog. Sonic and Tails had flown to the hospital, eager to hear any general news about the stranger.

As they entered the premises, both boys were lead back to the hedgehog's room by a nurse who instructed them to wait until a doctor arrived.

The moment they entered, Sonic immediately realized the hedgehog they had brought in was missing. Not sure what to think about it, he was about to question Tails as someone knocked on the door and gained the Mobian's attention.

As the doctor walked in, in trailed the black hedgehog. His gaze was focused on the ground, his posture showed that he was timid along with his tail between his legs. The hedgehog's legs wobbled as he slowly walked towards his bed and struggled to climb onto it.

Puzzled yet excited the hedgehog was up, Sonic focused his attention to the doctor,"how is he?"

A concerned look covered the physician's face,"I have some.. concerns. He doesn't seem to be speaking, his body is malnourished, and he refuses to make eye contact. His boy language along with the mild scarring on his torso and back indicate that he might have been abused before you two had found him."

The brothers shared a concerned look before turning back to the doctor, Sonic spoke up,"where did you two come from?"

Looking rather embarrassed, the doctor's ear flicked,"well, he panicked when he woke up and ran out. Security found him in a broom closet a few floors above us. It took a while, but I managed to get him to trust me enough to lead him back here."

Sighing and sneaking a glance towards the hedgehog in the bed, Sonic turns to Tails,"what are you thinking little bro?"

He took a moment, but answered nonetheless,"I guess we could.. take him. It would be best for him to get used to a stable home rather than one that resembles the Ark where we found him, don't you think?"

Giving an odd look, the doctor reluctantly agreed seeing as how the black hedgehog was terrified of the monitors in the room and had to be removed.

After filling out hours of paperwork, Sonic spent the next few hours sitting in the room with the hedgehog that would soon go home with him. Sitting cross legged on the floor against the wall to seem less threatening, Sonic pretended to play with his shoe, keeping his ears to the barely audible sounds the hedgehog made as he slowly crept closer to the edge of the bed to see what the mysterious blue hedgehog was doing.

By the end of the day, both male hedgehogs were sitting on the floor, Sonic quietly chatted away, nervous that a booming voice might scare the timid hedgehog.

"What do ya say we head home now, bud," Sonic reaches out his hand making the hedgehog's quils bristle slightly at the gesture. Before blue could retract his hand, a striped hand reached out and grasped onto the glove Sonic wore.

Taking that as a good sign, Sonic looked at the hedgehog in front of him and smiled warmly. It was the first time he was able to look at the black hedgehog's face, taking in every detail he could. From the hedgehog's blood red irises to his tan muzzle, Sonic noticed it all.

Sonic slowly stood up, bringing the black hedgehog to his feet. The blue hedgehog tried to remove his hand from the others grip, but the strong grasp the black hedgehog continued to hold onto Sonic's. Shrugging it off as if the other didn't understand, Sonic began to slowly walk to the door, the ebony hedgehog following closely behind.

...

The walk home had taken longer than anticipated, the black hedgehog either growled defensively at other Mobians or attempted to hide behind his new found blue friend.

Sonic had asked Tails to spend a few nights at Vanilla's house, not wanting to scare the black hedgehog. Leading the male to the upstairs bathroom, Sonic left him in the small room to grab a towel.

As he walked back, he immediately noticed the hedgehog was no longer standing but instead he coward on the floor, the new scenery making his timid side even more known.

"Hey, hey," Sonic's soothing voice easily caught the attention of the black hedgehog,"what's wrong?"

Kneeling down, Sonic gently reached out his hand, expecting his dark counterpart to place his own hand in his. What he _didn't _expect was for the ebony male to lean forward slightly, pressing his forehead into the palm of Sonic's hand.

Taken aback, Sonic could only give a small chuckle at the gesture. Was this the hedgehog showing he trusted him? Or was this just miscommunication?

Shrugging it off, Sonic crawled on his knees towards the shower, turning on the faucet and plugging the drain to fill the bath. Figuring it would be easier to sit in a tub then stand on a slippery floor with wobbly legs. Once the tub was filled up, Sonic motioned for the black hedgehog to come closer.

The liquid seemed to make the male nervous, but he edged closer nonetheless.

After a few attempts, Sonic had finally managed to get the black hedgehog into the tub. Not without getting his own fur drenched, of course.

Atempting to show the black hedgehog how to wash himself was a bust. When Sonic showed that he needed to squirt shampoo onto his palm and scrub himself only resulted in the ebony male to scrub the liquid onto Sonic's fur.

Laughing, Sonic rolled his eyes,"no, you have to rub it on _yourself._"

The hedgehog tilted his head, his black ears flopping to the side.

Normally, Sonic wouldn't willingly _wash _someone else, but he knew the hedgehog in the tub wasn't capable of doing so on his own.

So, bathing another Mobian was what he was going to do. It was odd, but as he continued, he didn't find it as uncomfortable as he would have guessed. The smell from the gooey residue from the tank he was in was finally leaving and being replaced with a more earthy scent.

Once bath time was over, Sonic drapped the towel around the shoulders of the black hedgehog. He should probably find out what the hedgehog's name is, shouldn't he?

"I wonder what your name is," Sonic scratched his chin as the hedgehog in front of him dried off, leaving the soaked towel on the counter.

Sighing, the speedy blue hedgehog ushered the other male into the spare bedroom, expecting him to sleep there.

When Sonic tried to return to his own room, the black hedgehog followed him, expecting to go with the hedgehog that he deemed to be a safe Mobian. Many attempts were made to try and usher the nameless black hedgehog to his own room, but sleep soon took ahold of Sonic and he gave up not long after.

As he layed in bed, the black hedgehog curled up into a protective ball of spikes, he couldn't help but think about the many things the poor hedgehog could have gone through.

Not only did he not get to live the life he was created for, but he was more than likely _abused _by the scientists aboard the space colony. Who would do such a thing? Sonic could only frown at the thoughts, sleep soon grabbing ahold of him. His body seemingly relaxing.


	2. Forgotten Enemies

**I've gotten such great reviews on this story!!! That makes me super excited lmao. I really hope you guys continue to read and review!**

**...**

Gentle raindrops on the roof soon turned to thunderous booms and lightning strikes. The first true storm signifying that the rainy weather was among them.

Sonic awoke suddenly when sharp jagged quils were suddenly pushed against the left side of his body. In the flash of light from outside, he could easily see the black hedgehog he had brought home tightly curled in a ball, pressed against the side of his body. He sighed as he scooted closer to the prickly bundled ball, wrapping the blanket over the hedgehog. It was only the first night, yet Sonic felt as if he hadn't slept in weeks. Every small sound and wimper the black hedgehog made woke him up.

"Don't worry. I got you. You're safe with me," Sonic's calm voice seemed to calm down the black hedgehog's demeanor. He slowly uncurled himself, staring into the emerald irises of the blue hero that saved him from his gross prison.

Ruby red stared into glossy and tired green, black ears perking slightly when the blue hedgehog gave a soft chuckle. Hearing rather happy sounding noise, the black hedgehog began to make a slight clicking sound, indicating he was happy and content with his savior comforting him in his time of need. Sonic's primal instincts kicked into high gear when his black counterpart started to click, his ears strained to hear the strange noise over the thunderous clap of thunder and rain. Never in his life had he heard of a Mobian hedgehog do _that! _He knew exactly what it was, but Mobian hedgehog's stopped the urge to click almost _a hundred years ago._ Then again, this black hedgehog was stuck in a tank all of his life, it wouldn't be surprising if he resulted back to his primal urges. As if on cue, he hedgehog leaned down, pressing his ear to a peach chest and listened to the thumping of the cobalts heart beat. The black hedgehog began to softly purr as sleep once again grabbed ahold of him.

Sonic could only cock his eyebrow at the strange but reasonable behavior. He never has any type of _bond _this strong with someone he barely knew, knowing what to do when the other started to result to touching and cuddling made him feel weird, but he didn't push the other away. He wanted his newfound friend to be comfortable in his presence, he wanted to show the black hedgehog the world he never got to see and be comfortable with him.

Sighing softly, Sonic thought quietly to himself,'this poor little guy.. I mean technically he isn't _little_, he's almost as tall as I am! I wonder if he's around my age.. I better go look at the documents Tails left, I need to know everything there is to know about him.'

Quietly, peach arms slowly removed the deeply sleeping hedgehog from his chest, sleep completely leaving the cobalt hedgehog. Sonic sneakily crept out of his bedroom to his downstairs kitchen. The darkness of the night making it almost hard to see where the dining room table was, the light from the lightning strikes streaking across the clouded sky helped guide him through his kitchen to his desired destination.

Not wanting to leave the hedgehog alone for more than a few minutes, Sonic quickly gathered the materials he needed and headed back upstairs to his bedroom. Once the paperwork was placed on his desk, he turned on his desk lamp and started to read the entries from when the dark hedgehog was in his containment. He grabbed the first notebook he saw and began reading, believing it was from a scientists personal logs:

_March 23,1962 15:56_

_The project has expressed signs of showing relations to Gerald's granddaughter. His one true purpose is to cure her, the professor believes it would be most favorable to have them develop a bond, believing it would further the chance that his blood samples would not get rejected by her N.I.D.S. Some of us believe the professor has begun to lose his mind, he refuses to let the project out of his cryogenic chamber._

_March 27, 1962 12:34_

_The project has begun showing signs of understanding, yet he doesn't seem to be communicating yet. Granted, his ears are covered by the regenerative substance that keeps him nourished. The only time he is able to come out is when the substance is being replaced once every 6 months. If the nourishing gel becomes more of a green color, it ends up reversing the progress we've made. Adjustments are to be made later._

As Sonic finished the last sentence, he realized there were a few pages covered in old dried up blood, making the work illegible. He skipped through the notebook until he came to a clear page.

_November 27, 1963 16:23_

_There are rumors of a raid. The Guardian Unit of Nation's commander has contacted Professor Gerald and has set a date that they would come to see the Project. I begged the Professor to cancel the meeting for fear they would confiscate the Project and all of our hard work but he refuses to listen. I've taken it into my own hands to hide the Project in one of the abandoned and unused labs in the bottom of the Space colony._

_November 30, 1963 14:35_

_Maria has started to call the Project 'Shadow'. It is rather catchy. I've begun calling it Shadow, as well. It seems to respond well with the new name. _

_December 13, 1963 08:54_

_The G.U.N. commander comes in a week, I can feel the tension in the other scientists and even Maria, yet she continues to try and communicate with Shadow. He seems to have formed a sibling-like bond with the young girl. The Professor disapproves, yet has said nothing to stop her from attempting to play with the hedgehog. _

_December 17, 1963 19:34_

_We've replaced the monthly gel with one that won't have to be replaced for five years. Shadow's little freedom from the tank has been taken from him. I do not approve, but I have no say in the matter. _

_December 21, 1963 15:43_

_We've perfected eternal life! Shadow is now permanently 17. There are a few kinks and adjustments we still need to figure out, but we have years to figure that out. We have to get ready for the commander. In preparation, I've already established a route to take the project to the hidden laboratory in case things go south._

_Wish me luck._

_December 23, 1963 07:43_

_The commander is set to arrive on the Space Colony at 0900. Everything is prepared for his arrival._

Sonic flipped the page, expecting there to be more entries, but found none. He sighed, looking at the hedgehog in his bed,' I guess the scientist was right about the raid. You poor thing. You also seemed to get attached to this Maria girl. I wonder if she was.. killed too.'

Placing the notebook to the side, Sonic grabbed another sheet of paper, the edges of it were either torn or crumpled, showing it was old.

He scanned the page, already knowing it was the report from a G.U.N. soldier about the Ark raid. Easily, he scanned the paper, reading off the names of everyone that was killed. His eyes widened as his emerald irises came across the one name he wanted to be alive.

_Maria Robotnik. Age: 12. Statis: deceased_

_Description:_

_Was diagnosed with neuro immune deficiency syndrome, Project S.H.A.D.O.W was created to cure her. The project was lost in the commotion. Agents scouted the premises, nothing was found. We believe the project will be secure on base, no need to remove it from space._

His chest ached as he finished the last sentence, not willing to read any more of the horror behind the fall of the Space Colony Ark.

How could someone take the life of a child? A _sick and already dying child?!_

A low growl erupted from deep inside his chest as he could only imagine the pain and torture his new found friend had to endure. He was a year older than Sonic, yet he has had an emotionally devastating experience throughout his life. The only semi-normal contact he had was with the girl he was supposed to save.

'Only one good piece of information was found,' Sonic thought as he turned to face the lump under his blankets,'your name is Shadow.'

...

Morning came too fast for the groggy blue hedgehog. After reading a few more unimportant documents, the blue hedgehog had fallen asleep on his desk. He was awoken by the sound of his bed creaking, slowly opening his eyes, he noticed the black hedgehog he had saved the day before was staring at him with his head tilted, his ears flopping to the side of his head.

Slowly blinking, Sonic sat up and stretched,"I guess you don't have full control over your ears, huh bud."

The black hedgehog could only stare, not fully understanding what the blue one was referring too. A low grumble of the black hedgehog's stomach alerted Sonic that the other was hungry.

"You've probably never had _real _food either. I can change that," with a wink, Sonic stood up, reaching out his hand for the other to grab, but yet again, Shadow placed his forehead against the peach palm of the other.

Together they walked down the hall way to the stairs, trying to show the black hedgehog how stairs worked was an absolute bust, he was terrified of the seemingly high stairs. Sonic gave a soft chuckle before lifting the hedgehog up, spreading his legs to either side of him making it easier to carry the heavier hedgehog.

Once downstairs, Sonic tried to place the stubborn hedgehog on the floor but as soon as his bare padded foot touched the floor, he clutched onto his savior tighter, making sure to wrap his legs around the other. Sonic couldn't help but laugh whole heartedly, instead walking over the counter and sitting him on top of the cool surface.

"Oh man, Shadow, you're a character, you know that?"

At the mention of his name, the black hedgehog's ears perked up, seemingly straining to see if he had heard correctly. Sonic immediately caught the act and spoke the name again. When he recieved the same response, a smile threatened to split his face in half.

"You know your name!" The blue hedgehog laughed excitedly," this is great! Can you say your name? Say _Shadow."_

Moments went by before he got an attempt at a response,"Sh.. Sha-.."

Twinkling emerald eyes stared as he continued to sound out the name.

"Shhhadow."

Sonic jumped for joy, startling the hedgehog on the counter and almost making him fall backwards," you did it! That's your name!"

Either the hedgehog was a fast learner or he really _did _know how to speak. Either way, Sonic was going to do his best to teach Shadow everything he knew.

"Can you say _Sonic_?" Said hedgehog pointed at himself, signifying that it was his name.

Another few moments passed before Shadow spoke up again,"Sss.. on.. _ic.."_

If Sonic's eyes widened anymore, they would surely pop out of his head,"almost there, say Sonic."

"Ssssonic.." Shadow's eyes seemed to give off a sparkle of content as he watched Sonic get more and more excited as he spoke.

...

The figure perched on his lounge chair chuckled deeply, his eyes never leaving the screen as he watched his archenemies speak to Project S.H.A.D.O.W.

"It was only a matter of time before they found and released you from your chamber.." he gave off another deep chuckle,"I had to make sure they got to you first, just in case any.. _accidents _were to unfortunately happen. Once you're strength is up, we'll retrieve you and make you the perfect soldier, _right, Metal?"_

He turned slightly, only to be stared at by glowing red eyes.


	3. Goodbye

**You guys are in for a surprise in later chapters ;)**

**...**

Days had passed since Shadow had been released from the hospital and into the care of Sonic. Deciding now was a good time as ever, the blue hedgehog wanted to introduce his ebony friend to his self proclaimed little brother.

"Alright, Shadow, you're going to meet my brother, okay? I mean _technically _you've met him before, but that was when you first woke up so I doubt you remember," shrugging, Sonic turned to the ebony being he was talking to, not expecting any type of reaction.

The hedgehog only continued to eat his banana, only recently learning how to peal and eat it correctly.

A slight knock on the front door made the hedgehog almost drop his fruit onto the cold surface of the dining room table. He watched as Sonic perked up and headed for the door.

"Sonic?"

Said blue hedgehog turned to Shadow,"don't worry, buddy. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

With a quick unlock of the door, it easily freaked open and in walked a small, golden furred fox. Not sensing an immediate threat, Shadow's ears perked in the direction of the newcomer. As the brothers welcomed eachother back, Shadow watched with caution. As baby blue eyes met blood red, his attitude turned into one of trust.

If Sonic could trust the fox kit, why couldn't he?

...

"Can you say _Tails?_" Sonic pointed towards the fox, waiting for Shadow to pronounce the new name.

"I can't believe you got him to learn his own name," the golden fox was amazed at the progress Sonic was making with their new housemate.

"Actually I was looking over those documents you gave me."

Genuinely shocked, Tails turned his attention from Shadow to his older brother," you _read?_ Alright, who are you and what did you do with my brother?"

Sonic couldn't help but laugh, then turned back to Shadow,"c'mon bud, say _Tails_."

Moments when by before Shadow sounded out the name,"Taaailss."

Sonic smiled victoriously while his younger brothers eyes twinkled,"this is so amazing! He's a fast learner!"

...

After hours of an extensive learning period, the trio sat in the living room watching tv. Shadow had hissed at the flat screen for 2 minutes before Sonic was able to calm him down enough to watch it instead. A few more hours passed, Sonic had decided to carry Shadow to their spare bedroom, deemed to be Shadow's room, and placed the sleeping hedgehog on the cool mattress. As he slowly crept out of the room, he grabbed the door handle and turned it, not wanting the clicking sound of the closing door awaking the slumbering hedgehog.

"Sonic?"

Sonic chuckled, knowing his plan was a fifty-fifty shot,"hey, bud. You're going to sleep here tonight, okay?"

The black hedgehog cocked his head, confused,"Sonic?"

"Oy, I'm sorry bud. But you're going to need to learn to do things on your own. I'll always be by your side, but you gotta slowly start to learn to be independent. Sleeping in your own room would be a great start."

"Sonic... stays."

"I'll just be in my room-"

"Sonic _stays."_

"You sure are one _stubborn _hedgehog, you know that?" Sonic sighed in defeat, giving off a comforting smile,"let me go grab an extra blanket and I'll be right back."

Peach arms stretched over his head as he walked to his bedroom, as he yawned, he grabbed ahold of a grey fuzzy blanket. Wrapping it around himself, he removed his shoes and walked back to Shadow's room.

...

The chair squeaked slightly as the large man leaned back, scanning over the presumably 'stolen' documents.

"By leaving the files behind a weakly protected firewall, the fox boy easily thought he had taken _all of the original files._ What he _doesn't _know, is that those were modified by yours truly. I only left in the parts that were less likely to them to suspect that he was created to be a cold hearted _killer." _The robot he spoke to could only stare, this glowing red eyes hyper fixated on everything the man in front of him was doing.

"After the raid on the Ark, the G.U.N. commander had failed to find my grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. They figured it would be easier to leave him up there to die with the rest of his dead scientists instead of bringing him in for trial," the man scoffed,"they were _fools _to do that. When he deemed it safe to come out of hiding, he spent days reprogramming The Project to forget all of his progress in curing my dear cousins desease and replaced it with pure hatred for all human and Mobian kind alike. All I have to do is get him back here and put him in stasis so I can reopen that part of his brain and he'll be _completely under my control."_

Metal Sonic's red eyes shown slightly brighter as he was given background information of his next mission, eager to capture the black hedgehog and turn him against his own friends.

"What makes this situation even more.. incredulous is the fact that Sonic already _bonded _with him! I would have though I needed to wait _weeks _for that, but the blue nuisance got so attached in such a short period of time. Now," he turned to Metal, his fingers wrapping around the small tablet in his hand,"bring him to me."

...

A loud sonic boom erupted throughout the sky, alerting everything in its wake. Sonic woke up with a jolt, realizing he was alone in the bed. Quickly scanning the room, he realized the black hedgehog he was looking for was cowering in a corner, the loud sound making him shiver and raise his quils defensively.

Shadow covered his ears, his body trembled violently as the flashbacks of his best friend and sister were massacred right in front of him. His unwilling mind only showing him the dead bodies that littered the floor as he was dragged out of his cryogenic chamber, the ooz that once surrounded him now dripped off his body in clumps as he ran down the hall with a terrified scientist. Shadow didn't know where he was leading him but anywhere away from the loud gun fire and the sight of his dead sister was better. He was barely learning to breathe without the regeneration gel before he was grabbed by the back of his neck and thrown into another cryogenic chamber in the basement of he space colony he resided in. He struggled to breathe, the gel was thicker and unfamiliar. Before he knew what was happening, the scientist locked the hatch and ran out of the door, securing it as well.

Before he could reach out his hand to place on Shadow's head like they've been doing, a loud crash and crumbling debris sounded out, causing Shadow to cower even more. Fearing Tails was hurt, Sonic rushes out of the room heading downstairs.

"Sonic!" The kit called out, running out of his workshop and into the dining room,"what was that noise?!"

Seeing the kit unhurt, Sonic turned to the crumbling wall of his house, watching as the right side tumbled down,"what cause this?"

Before either boy could come up with any type of examination, another loud crash sounded from upstairs. They exchanged a quick look to eachother and ran upstairs, spotting the gapping hole in Shadow's bedroom wall, the hedgehog himself missing.

"_Shadow?!"_

Easily, Sonic spotted what seemed to be a robot with an engine connected to his back flying quickly away. Without thinking or grabbing his specially made shoes, the blue hedgehog chased after the menace.

Luckily for the blue hero, the robot in question wasn't as fast as Sonic, he pushed through the pain rushing through his feet as the bare pavement collided with his fast feet. Burns and already aching quickly through the ehedgehog off guard, not realizing how bad running without his fire resistant shoes would be.

Nonetheless, he caught up to the perpetrator,"Metal!"

The robot ignored him, only increasing his speed using his boosters and grabbing tighter onto the unconscious black hedgehog in his arms. As much as it pained Sonic, he only ran faster. His socks had long ago burned off from the sheer speed he was running. Giving one final boost, he jumped toward Metal Sonic, tackling the robot hedgehog to the ground. The unconscious Shadow tumbled down with them, landing hard as an audible crack sounded from his chest.

Growling, Sonic balled his fist ready to attack, his aching feet threatening to make him collapse soon. He stared angrily into the cold hearted eyes of the killer robot, the robot doing the same to Sonic. In the blink of an eye, Metal used his turbo boosted engine to gather the black hedgehog and blasted off once again, gaining altitude as he did so to make it harder for Sonic to trace where he was going.

The blue hedgehog stared in horror as his innocent minded friend was stolen right before his eyes.

"What have I done.."


	4. Forgotten

Cackling, Eggman patted the black hedgehog's head, automatically irritating the male. He had succeeded in erasing Shadow's memory, deleting all evidence that he and Sonic ever knew eachother. Six years had flown by in the blink of an eye, his secret underground base being the perfect cover to hide out the first few months as Sonic and his friends searched for Shadow high and low.

The black hedgehog trained day and night, learning every combative move and ability he could. As he aged, he learned to control his chaotic abilities, even going as far as to harnessing his Chaos Energy into fueling his specially made hover skates to reach unmentionable speeds comparable to that of a specific blue hedgehog.

"For your first task, I need you to retrieve the white Chaos Emerald from Green Hill. Should you meet any _pests _you'll know what to do," the man chuckled, already knowing a certain twin tailed fox was on his way to secure the emerald.

The black hedgehog nodded,"yes, Doctor."

With that said, the hedgehog used his advanced skates and sped out of the secret base. Getting Shadow to acknowledge that Dr.Eggman was in fact Professor Geralds grandson was the easy part, trying to explain why the black hedgehog has no memories after the killing of his best friend was the tricky one. But with the help of his grandfathers videos and sabotaged documents, he was able to convince Shadow that he was on the good side and that Sonic and his friends were trying to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds to destroy the planet he swore to protect.

"Gullibility is my absolute _favorite _trait, Metal," Dr.Eggman turned his attention to his favorite robot,"lets see how powerful Shadow _really _is."

...

Shadow narrowed his eyes at the Mobians passing by, he had stopped running, not wanting to crash into anyone. If they weren't the blue hedgehog or his friends, he didn't wish them any type of pain.

'Maria would have wanted that,' he thought as he looked down an alley, easily spotting the bright green and blue graffiti on the brink wall.

As his attention was turned towards the alley and not where he was walking, his shoulder collided with another.

"Hey, _watch it,_" the red echidna's purple irises glared daggers at Shadow. Red met purple, both staring angrily at the other.

"Knuckles, honey, leave the hedgehog alone."

Shadow reluctantly turned his attention from the hot headed echidna to the sultry voice, identifying it as coming from an ivory colored bat. Her eyes half lidded and poise attitude easily calming down the echidna and making him blush.

"Rouge," he acknowledged,"we were just having a little _disagreement."_

"Honey, I saw you two. You bumped _shoulders _at the least, if I didn't come in you would have pummeled this poor hunk of a hedgehog," the bat known as Rouge winked at Shadow, his expression unfazed.

He only grunted in a response, listening to their conversation as they talked.

"C'mon, Knuckie, we need to head to Blue's house for the party. I didn't spend all day picking out the perfect outfit for _nothing."_

The echidna rolled his eyes,"yeah, whatever."

A quick goodbye from the bat and echidna and Shadow was on his way, resuming the mission he was given.

...

"I swear if Sonic doesn't have good liquor I'm going out and buying some _myself,"_ Rouge knocked on the door, the sound of rustling footsteps were heard before the latches on the door unlocked and the wooden door swung open revealing Amy,"hey there hun."

"Hey guys!" She happily chirped,"you're just in time! Tails just got back from getting a Chaos Emerald and he's about to show us his new invention!"

Inside, Sonic laughted with his friends, admiring all the laughter and smiling faces around the room. They were having their yearly celebration to welcome the holiday seasons. As he spotted the last two guests, he approached them.

"Guys! You made it! I was starting to think you wouldn't show," he winked, shaking Knuckles hand before giving Rouge a welcoming hug.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, hun," the ivory bat smiled warmly as Knuckles nodded. "Don't mind him, blue. He had a little _mix up _downtown while we were on our way here."

"It wasn't a _mix up, _Rouge. That damn black hedgehog wasn't looking where he was walking."

"That's no reason to want to _fight _the guy, Knuckles. You're just irritated because you had to wait a few hours for me to finish getting ready."

"A few hours turned into 7 hours."

Sonic laughed,"you guys are hilarious." As he thought about their conversation, he couldn't help but wonder about the supposed black hedgehog,"what did he look like?"

"Who?" Rouge question, the topic had changed and she wasn't sure what the cobalt hero was referring to.

"The black hedgehog. What was he like?"

She though for a minute before Knuckles interrupted before she could speak,"red stripes and black fur. That's all I noticed."

Rouge snapped her fingers as she thought about what distinctive features the male in question had," he was _incredibly _handsome too. He had these ravishing red eyes that made even he Chaos Emeralds look dull."

The echidna turned to her, a look of question on his face,"why don't you go marry him then."

"I already have my eye on a hot headed someone," She winked.

"Did.. did he say anything?" He couldn't explain it, his heart beat fast. Was this who he had been looking for for these past few years? Rouge and Knuckles were on a get away trip when he had gathered his friends in search of Shadow so there would be no way that they would be able to know of it was him or not.

Thinking for a minute, Rouge shook her head,"no, he was quiet the whole time now that I think about it."

"I.." his heart was leaping out of his chest, begging him to go out and search for the missing hedgehog. Before he could make a move towards the door, Tails caught all of their attention.

"Now that everyone's here I can show you guys my best invention yet!" All eyes shifted to the kit as he proudly held up his Miles Electric.

"Uh.." Knuckles looked at the device confused," you made that like years ago."

The rest of the group murmured in agreement. The 16 laughed,"yeah, I know. But I upgraded it, making it able to track Chaos Emeralds in our two neighboring planets. I'm hoping to make it stronger to one day make it track our emeralds in other dimensions. I finished it earlier than I anticipated so I took the tornado out and I was able to get the Chaos Emerald earlier that I expected to, even proving its stronger and can even pinpoint the exact location."

The questioning murmurs quickly turned to gasps of excitement and congratulations.

...

Shadow grunted as he kicked a rock with his metal skate,"where is that _damn _emerald?"

Searching the bearing area, he came up empty, nothing signifying that the emerald was ever there to begin with. 'My first mission and I have already _failed._ Was this truly my purpose to begin with? I have this undeniable urge telling me that I was made for a more significant reason..' he shook his head, biding the thoughts goodbye,' what am I saying. What's more significant than protecting the planet from the blue hedgehog?'


	5. Black and Blue pt 1

**_This chapter has an abuse warning, I wanted to give you a look into the daily life of Shadow while under Eggmans 'care'._**

The sound of leather against skin echoed throughout the hidden base. Tan lips snarled in pain, his ears bent back as a sign of submission, not wanting to endure the pain anymore. His inhibitor rings were removed and replaced by silver colored ones by Dr. Eggman to ensure that his healing powers wouldn't interfere with his punishment.

The silver rings cuffed around his wrists and ankles were draining his natural Chaos Energy, making him weaker. He had failed in retrieving the Chaos Emerald and thos was his punishment. He could easily dismember the robot torturing him and go after the doctor but he was Professor Geralds _grandson. _He wouldn't hurt anyone that was related to the Professor, so he endured the pain and horrible treatment that always came when he had failed in training; or in thos case, his first real mission.

After what felt like hours, the robot stopped. The black hedgehog fell to the floor, the pain intoxicating and ruining his natural thought process.

_It's all for the greater good_, his mind tells him, _it'll be worth it in the end._

'I'll destroy the blue hedgehog, granting me eternal access to the Doctors gratification,' Shadow thought as he laid on the floor, his bloodied back dripping onto the cold metal ground. A few minutes passed before the sound of metal doors opened, revealing Metal Sonic. Although the cold hearted robot clone of his enemy was vicious and malice, he seemed to have grown a bond with the ebony agent. Shadow had seen the doctor dismember the blue robot multiple times, treating him as if he was nothing but _garbage_.

The robot lent out his hand, waiting for Shadow to grasp it. A gloved hand grasped onto the sharp tallons, the other pulling him up in the process. Metal nodded towards Shadow, then proceeded to exit silently. With a quick glance back to where he was laying, he stared at the shallow pool of blood, the memories of Maria's death flooding his system.

"_Shadow! Return to the front deck, we have work to do!"_ The booming voice of Dr. Eggman tang over the loud speaker, bringing the hedgehog out of his trance. Shaking his head, he stepped out of the chamber, spotting his golden inhibitor rings on a nearby table. After switching the silver ones with the golden ones, he quickly regenerated his back.

'The Doctor will surely send me back if I leave a trail of blood in my path,' eyeing the exit, he walked in the direction of where Dr. Eggman wanted him.

"I am here, Doctor," Shadow places his hands behind his back, making himself as presentable as possible, as if he wasn't just whipped by a robot not ten minutes earlier.

The human didn't look in his direction as he continued to type away at his computer,"I have a new mission for you. One that even _you _can't possibly fail."

Black ears perked up,"of course, I'll do whatever you need me to do, Doctor."

"_Of course, you will, _because if you _don't, _you know what will happen." Eggman is met with a silent nod,"nonetheless, I need you to be my little_ spy._ You are going to the blue hedgehog's house. He will know you and you will _pretend _to know him. I want to know everything they have planned down to what color _socks _they're wearing, do you understand? In order to take over the world, I've been working on sky scraper sized mecha robots for the past six years. While I get them ready for world domination, I need _you_ to join the enemy. Make them believe you're one of them. Join their little rebellion and confiscate every niche of detail and army strategy they come up with and relay it back to me, _daily._"

Although irritated that he needed to infiltrate the enemy, Shadow nodded," I'll do my best, Doctor."

Turning from his screen to look the black hedgehog in the eyes, he shoved a small black smartphone in the palms of the other," use this. Send pictures of their strategies and game plans. Record what you can't take a picture of. You will leave tomorrow afternoon. Sonic has everyone at his house, it's better to knock them all down with meet and greets at one time rather than spend days getting to know all of the pathetic rodents." When Shadow nodded in understanding, Eggman waved him off, turning back to his computer,"now get out of my sight."

...

Sonic sighed, his shower was meant to last only ten minutes but his will to pick up the soap is lost. His thoughts drifted back to the few days after Shadow was kidnapped by Eggman.

_"What have I done..." _

_His feet ached, blisters and blood dripped from the bottom of his feet. The sheer force of will being the only thing helping him get back to his house. His bloodied and burned pads of his feet would heal in due time yet his heart yearned to g back out and search for Shadow and Metal Sonic. He couldn't just let them go, he saw the direction they were headed in before he had tackled Metal._

_"I just need my shoes and I'll be fine," the walk back home was brutal against his feet. Surely the dirty ground and mud against his feet would cause an infection if he didn't get his feet properly protected. Once back yo his house, Tails had been scouring the rubble, looking for items they could save._

_"Sonic! Where's Shadow?"_

_His ears lowered as he replied,"I forgot my shoes. I wasn't fast enough."_

_The fox kit could easily see the dread and exasperation in his older brother's eyes. He knew the closeness with his brother and his new friend was going to be troublesome if one decided to leave the other, but he never pictures that one would be kidnapped._

_"Well," the fox began, trying to come up with a bandaid of a fox to cheer up his brother if only slightly,"we could get the gang and fan out a search party. We can check Eggman's bases old and new alike and see what we come up with from there."_

_Quickly trying to hide away his pain, Sonic gave a crooked smile,"you're right little buddy, no point in being bummed out over someone that isn't lost. We just need to find him and bring him back."_


	6. Black and Blue part 2

Sonic shivered as he pulled at the collar of his green hoodie. The weather was getting colder as the year ended, snow was rumored to start falling within the week. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for his younger brother to come out of the front door. The wind howled against their house, the chilly air making his fur stand on end.

The kit he was waiting for stepped out of the house, locking the door behind him the proceeded to turn around and approach his older brother," sorry, Sonic, I was trying to fix my bangs but they wanted to do do their own thing." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"No worries bud, the trip to Rouge's is just a quick walk," the brothers walked in the direction of their desired destination. They all had agreed that they, along with the rest of their friends, would meet up at Rouge's house for a few hours and have breakfast. It was a common yet simple tradition they all partook in after the crazy adult party from the night before.

The two brothers walked in silence, enjoying the crispy cold morning air that nipped away at their ears and tips of their noses.

"Sonic?"

"Hm?" The blue hero turned to his brother as they walked, not wanting to be the last ones arriving.

"I have a bad feeling. I'm not completely sure what about, but I just _feel _it."

Turning back to face forward, Sonic sighed softly,"dont worry little buddy. I felt that way too when Eggman stopped attacking. The storm is coming and it's hard to feel at ease."

Now chuckling, Tails stuffed his hands in his jacket pocket,"when did you become so wise?"

The blue hedgehog laughed before ruffling his brother's head fur,"I became wise when you became _tall_. You're almost as tall as me!"

They shared a quick laugh before turning on the sidewalk and walking up Rouge and Knuckles' driveway. Their shoes gave off a soft clacking sound against the stone stairs that provided a path up to the wooden door.

After a swift knock, the door was answered by none other than the ivory bay herself,"hello handsome." She winked at Sonic while giving Tails a smile.

"Hey Rouge, are we late to the party?"

She waved them off before stepping to the side to give them access to her house.

...

Shadow growled as the unnamed robot removed his hover skates and gloves, making him feel vulnerable. The doctor wanted the black hedgehog to seem as if he was held captive those whole time instead of knowing that he was training to be the best soldier Eggman could make.

"Now," Dr. Eggman stood up straight, as he stared the black hedgehog down,"Keep your story straight, even the _slightest _slip up could completely compromise the mission. Fail this one, and I'll make sure Metal puts a bullet in your skull. We've trained too hard for you to slip up now. Avenge my cousin and your friend by gaining the enemy's trust. Don't fail Maria."

Nodding, Shadow slowly walked out. The limp in his step was noticeable, just what Eggman wanted. He switched out Shadow's golden inhibitor rings for the grey ones after a whipping 'treatment', wanting to insure that he looked the part as well.

He was sent the location of Rouge's house, he believed it to be the bat he encountered the day before, and followed the mental map in his head. Not wanting to risk bringing out the black smartphone and putting himself to anyone who might notice him, he walked faster.

Within the hour, he had arrived at the house. The excuse was simple: pretend to have escaped by manipulating a weak minded robot who provided him with the information of Sonic and his friend's houses.

He knocked on the door, hissing slightly when he realized the bruising on his knuckles and hands were still there.

His sensitive ears caught the sound of shuffling on the other side of the door before it swung open revealing the ivory bat from the day prior.

Before a snarky remark about finding the black hedgehog at her door, she gasped at the sight before her. The hedgehogs ears were cut and chunks were ripped off. His right eye swollen shut while the left one looked bloodshot. His quils and fur were astray and covered in cuts filled with dried blood. She noticed he was leaning on his left side, indicating his right side was in pain.

He uttered one word," Sonic."

Not wasting a second, she turned around and called out the blue hedgehog's name. When it seemed like he was hesitant to leave his breakfast and conversation with Knuckles, she called again, seeming more urgent. Knowing Rouge was only serious in crucial times, he stood up and walked over to the door, as he stood next to her, he looked out the door.

Time seemed to freeze over.

'_Those emerald eyes.. where have I seen them before?' _Shadow could only stare at the hedgehog before him. He had never seen the blue hedgehog he only knew that Metal Sonic looked like him. Too many feelings flushed through the black hedgehogs mind as he tried to grasp reality and the excuse he was supposed to tell the other on how he escaped Eggman's clutches but he suddenly seemed _tongue tied._

Sonic was the first to speak up, Rouge decided to watch the duo,"Shadow? You're alive?"


	7. Friendly Face

The black hedgehog could only stare at the blue male before him, completely forgetting the female bat and his mission momentarily.

Sonic looked at Rouge then back to the black hedgehog,"buddy?"

As the wave of flustered silence faded, he looked down at his beaten and battered body before looking back to Sonic," I.. escaped."

A gut wrenching feeling caused Sonic to take a cautious step forward toward the other to help him in. With all the cuts, bruises, and who knows what's else, it would have been hard for him to walk all the way to Rouge's house.

'_Wait..' _The blue male stopped in his tracks,"how'd you know where I was?"

Keeping his expression blank, he explained," I was helped. I was able to manipulate a small minded robot."

This answer seemed to please Sonic for the moment, he took another step forward before gently grabbing Shadow's arm and using it to help the other into the house. Rouge side stepped to let the two in, after the two hedgehogs entered the house, she called for Tails and Knuckles to get the emergency kit from the hallway closet.

Wondering what all the commotion was about, the rest of their friends piled into the living room, curiosity enveloping themselves.

Any gasped as she looked over the hurt male,"oh my chaos, what happened?"

"We'll explain later, sugar, right now we need to get him proper medical care," Rouge sighed then turned to the golden colored fox as he returned with the medical supplies,"Tails, hun, could you be a dear and bring the tornado?"

The twin tailed male stopped in his tracks, scratching his ear sheepishly,"actually, Rouge, I dismembered the Tornado to rebuild it completely. It's not exactly in running shape right now."

"I got it," all eyes turned to Sonic as he gently picked up Shadow bridal style,"I'm the fastest and we don't have time to find another way. I'll meet you guys at Sloan Hospital."

The group of friends nodded while Shadow miraculously hid the slight blush on his tan cheeks. No one had shown him any type of kindness.

...

"-all cuts and bruises should heal on their own," the doctor shifted her glasses," as for the fractured hip, he'll need to be in a brace for 3 weeks."

As she turned from Sonic to Shadow, she continued,"no running, jumping, basically any type of exercise. You'll need help showering, washing your lower body, and actually using the bathroom, but that's about it mobility wise. You said you weren't in too much pain so I'll only prescribe over the counter pain killers."

With a simple nod of the head, Shadow turned his attention towards the blue hedgehog as the doctor walked out to get the brace.

The cobalt hero was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the floor. His ear perked as the deep voice as the other hedgehog in the room spoke.

"Sonic?"

"Hm?"

"Is something the matter?"

Green irises glances toward the window then back to the ruby ones that stared at him,"no, I just.. I can't believe you're back."

He sighed as he pushed off the wall and walked over to the blue covers on the bed Shadow resided on, sitting down across from the black hedgehog. "I searched for you everyday for almost a whole year. I only stopped because my friends noticed it was messing with me mentally." He sighed once more, closing his eyes as he recalled the troublesome events that took place after the dissapearence of his friend. "I wanted to keep looking. I had my friends who barely knew what you look like help too, they were kind enough to do so but they had their own lives, they couldn't search forever. After Metal Sonic took you, Eggman went into hiding somewhere and has been in hiding since. It's been six years and everything is different now, I'm just taking a minute to process everything."

"I understand," refusing to give in to his emotions, he felt a strong bond-like feeling with the stranger on the bed,"I'm sorry I left so suddenly."

Chuckling, Sonic waved him off,"past is past, now we can look towards the future."

Shadow was about to respond when the sound of the creaking doorframe inturrupted him. In walked the doctor who held the brace for Shadow's fractured hip.

...

After the destruction of their previous home, the hedgehog and fox duo moved their residents to a one story house with an even bigger workshop for Tails to store his projects in.

Sonic gave up his room to Shadow who protested but ultimately gave in and took the chance at some privacy. The black hedgehog sat on the deep green colored covers of Sonic's bed, typing away at the black smartphone in his hand updating the Doctor like the mission required him to.

After sending the coordinates of the new house, he hid his phone back in the sharp spines of his head quills. He looked around the plain room, taking in as much detail as he could. The blue hero hung pictures of his friends on the walls, some being group photos and some being just him and another Mobian.

'He seems to care about his friends a lot,' the black hedgehog thought as he grabbed the crutches on the side of the bed to help lift himself up. Now using the crutches to walk, he limped out of the room and towards the living room where he knew the blue hedgehog was at.

"Sonic?"

A flick of a blue ear signifies that the hedgehog was listening as he paused his video game and turned towards the only other being in the room,"yeah?"

He took a moment to retort as he struggled to sit down on the couch,"I.. don't know much about you."

The blue hedgehog shrugged, turning his body to face the other," well, I put my friends safety and happiness before mine, I love going on adventures, and running is basically my lifestyle."

Shadow nodded, automatically filing the information away in his brain.

"Your turn."

The bio-hog's shoulders sank slightly,"I.. I don't actually know anything about myself. I've been trapped for 6 years and imprisoned on the Ark for 50 years. I didn't have time to discover what makes me.. me."

"Crap," asking the question would have been acceptable to any one _other _than the one hedgehog he knew that was held in confinement for most of his life,"I'm sorry, Shadow. I shouldn't have asked."

'There's something about this hedgehog.. he doesn't seem to oppose a threat to anyone. So far, at least. I shouldn't let my guard down,' Shadow shook his head,"it's fine."

The room grew silent for a few moments before the ebony male spoke up again,"as embarrassing as this is, I believe I'm in need of a shower.."

This statement made the blue hedgehog laugh,"oh yeah, I totally forgot. I'll help you."

...

Shadow sighed as the cup filled with water flowed over his head," I despise being this vulnerable."

This caused the other male to laugh,"ah it's not so bad. I did this to you before."

"You have?" This caught the attention of the sudsy black hedgehog,"why?"

Sonic shrugged as he scrubbed behind a black ear with shampoo,"well when Tails and I found you in the capsule on the Ark, you were trapped inside this weird ooz. When we got you out, you absolutely smelled and you were too scared to use the shower by yourself so I helped you. I don't mind it, really. When I was raising Tails, I had to help him a lot too."

Shadow seemed flabbergasted, how could a hedgehog that took care of not only a fox cub while he himself was only a child but _another hedgehog _who was basically the same age and be a threat to the world? This didn't make sense, but he didn't question it.

"You don't remember anything?"

Shadow turned to the blue hedgehog who was now scrubbing his left leg with soap,"I do not recall anything before The Doctor captured me."

Now it was Sonic's turn to seem flabbergasted,"geez, Shads. Maybe I could have Tails take a look at you for any type of head injury that might have caused amnesia."

"That won't be necessary, hedgehog."

Sonic shrugged it off,"if you say so, you know where to find me if you change your mind."

"Most likely bathing me again."

Sonic laughed,"yeah, probably."

...

Shadow yawned quietly, the couch cushion he was sitting on was the most comfiest seat he had ever sat on. While he was under Dr.Eggman's "care", he wasn't allowed a bed, only a prison-cell like room with a desk and a single blanket. Most of the nights were below freezing which caused his Chaos Energy to spike to keep his body temperature regulated.

The black hedgehog watched as Sonic's sleeping face leaned on the pillow. His facial features relaxed beyond content. The blue hedgehog had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, yet Shadow couldn't being himself to stand and leave to the confinement of his temporary room. He instead stared at the sleeping blue hedgehog, watching as his chest rose and fell with each breath he took and how his ear twitched every so often, seemingly listening for something.

Before he knew it, Shadow had fallen asleep on the same couch as his rival as well, not caring that it might jeopardize the mission later on. All he knew, was that something was wrong with the mission and that all he wanted to do was to curl up in the arms of the blue hedgehog before him and slumber for the rest of his life.


	8. Food

**I had surgery today so you guys get a chapter earlier than anticipated! Enjoy guys! I wanted to establish Sonic and Shadow's relationship in this chapter so, have fun**

**...**

Sonic yawned awake, his quils sharpening and flattening on reflex as he stretched. His limbs popped ever so quietly as he settled back into a relaxed position. He looked over to his left at the sleeping being, knowing he would still be there just by gut feeling.

Something was off with the black hedgehog, Sonic could easily tell because of how close they were when they met previously. The way the ebony hedgehog carried himself and talked showed that he was a lot more confident in his actions but seemed to be holding back.

Looking at the male's clawed feet, Sonic decided to go get Shadow new socks from his bedroom. Taking one last glance at the sleeping male, Sonic then stood up and headed for his room. As he entered, he stood on his tip toes as he took a few steps to stretch out his calves, already itching for a run. The azure male took ahold of the knob on the small dresser and pulled it open revealing not only clean socks, but multiple pairs of gloves. He noticed that Shadow seemed confident without gloves and only proceeded to grab a pair of the pearly white socks for the other male.

After walking back to the living room, he quietly sat on the coffee table and lifted up the striped legs one at a time to put on the socks for the other since he couldn't bend down. This didn't seem to matter to the black hedgehog as he continued his deep sleep, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Taking that as a good sign, the blue Mobian strode into the kitchen to proceed with making breakfast. He knew Tails wanted to give him and Shadow space and wouldn't be back until the following day, so he decided eggs, bacon, and toast would satisfy their hunger.

After breakfast was good and made, he placed the contents on a glass plate and grabbed a fork to bring to the still sleeping male.

Placing the plate on the coffee table to his hands were free to gently wake the other, he placed his left hand on Shadow's right shoulder and shook as gently as he could, not sure how well the other reacted to physical contact.

"Hey, bud, I made breakfast. Wake up."

Shadow groaned and slowly blinked open his eyes. The hedgehog had never really been able to sleep more than 4 hours. His days with Eggman consisted of barely sleeping a few hours and using his Chaos Energy to feed himself throughout the day, he wasn't used to eating _regular _food. The contents on the plate that sat on the wooden coffee table confused him.

"Breakfast?"

Sonic nodded,"yeah, didn't Egghead give you food?"

Shadow shook his head 'no'.

Sonic sighed and gave a sympathetic smile,"well, I guess imma be making you breakfast everyday while you're under my care, okay? Try it, I make some pretty mean scrambled eggs."

Although the concept of eating food like every other living thing on the planet confused him, he decided to give it a try.

He slowly sat up with the help of the blue hedgehog who placed a pillow between the small of his back and the couch to hold up his body in an upright position. After doing so, Sonic grabbed the plate and placed it on Shadow's lap above the grey blanket.

Hesitantly, Shadow awkwardly picked up the fork to the best of his ability and used it to stab into some of the egg and bit into it. Never having used a fork in his life took a small toll on his ego, but Sonic showed him how to properly hold it so his hand wasn't shaky.

After he swallowed the bite of eggs, his eyes gave off a small but seemingly noticeable flint and he eagerly took another bite. After that, he soon consumed the rest of the food on the plate, damn near licking it clean.

Sonic laughed as he grabbed the plate, already knowing the black hedgehog was silently asking for more. The Mobian hero walked back into the kitchen and served his long lost friend more food along with food for himself. After setting the plate of food in Shadow's lap and placing his own plate on the coffee table, he returned to the kitchen and served both himself and his friend a cup of orange juice.

Upon returning to the living room, Sonic had immediately noticed the biohog had already feverishly consumed the food and was eagerly watching the contents in the glass the blue hedgehog held.

"Orange juice," Sonic spike, answering the unasked question,"it goes great with breakfast."

As he sat next to Shadow on the couch, he handed over the cup to his friend and started to consume his own food, watching as Shadow cautiously dipped at the pulp filled juice.

"It has.. food in it?"

Sonic nearly choked on his toast as he tried not to laugh,"no, no. That's pulp. Orange juice is from oranges which have like.. little bits of.. oranges.. yeah it's basically food in your drink, I don't know how else to explain it."

The blue hero couldn't help but laugh at the odd expression Shadow gave as he continued to cautiously drink the juice, watching as the black hedgehog silently chewed on some of the small bits of pulp in his mouth.

...

After breakfast, Sonic let Shadow watch tv on the couch as the blue hedgehog ran out to the store to get food for more than just him and Tails. Not knowing what exactly Shadow would like, he proceeded to get _everything _from soup to five-course meals.

'Why am I suddenly so interested in making him food? I barley make _myself _food. Kinda odd. But it kinda makes me feel good to see that sparkle in his eyes when I get to see him try new things,' Sonic shrugged as he carried the bags back home,' are my feelings for him returning? Oh Chaos, I hope not. Losing him in the first place was horrible, I can't lose him again, especially not because he doesn't return my feelings. I don't want to scare him off.'

The male sighed as he sped up, making sure to have a tight grip on the 7 bags in his hands. How he managed not to spill _anything _going the speed he was running at was beyond him, he was just glad it _didn't _happen.


	9. Relationship

**Oh don't worry! The surgery only took and hour and it was just a revision to cut out some of the scar tissue that made my chest look puffy, all in all, the surgery went great and I appreciate the support!**

**Also, I love when you guys review, it's amazing that people actually like my stuff. I've been writing things like this since I was 12/13 and now I'm 20. Kinda old to be writing Sonic fanfics, I know, but it's a hobby I really love.**

**I'm so sorry for the lag!!!!! I moved to kansas and I'm still getting used to the time difference! Sorry guys!**

**Enjoys guys!**

**...**

Shadow quickly hid the small smart phone in his head quils as he heard the familiar sound of the front door opening and closing along with the sound of bags ruffling.

"Hey, Shads," Sonic greeted,"I got some food for dinner tonight. You're gonna try my all time favorite food: chili dogs!"

Shadow's ears perked ever so slightly at the mention of food he was bound to try.

"And I was thinking about how you don't exactly have shoes to wear so I got you these. I thought they'd go good with your fur," as Sonic said this, he pulled out a shoe box with black combat boots. The boots were of military grade, G.U.N. styled, weatherproof boots made for seemingly all terrains.

Ruby colored irises stared at the gift before him, unsure of how to react. Never having actually received a present before was.. odd to the young black hedgehog. His curiousity getting the better of him, he reached out and took ahold of the box they resided in, examining them closely.

The boots themselves were water resistant material, the laces were waxed and water proof as well. When he put them on to see if they fit, the tounge of the boot reached the halfway point of his calf. Although the preferred his hover skates over anything, the thought of the gift itself was special to him.

As he laced up the shoes and stood up to make sure they were the correct size, he turned to the blue hedgehog who was watching him contently.

"Thank you, Sonic. I've never received a 'gift' before."

The hero nodded, a smile threatening to split his face in half,"dont sweat it! I love buying my friends gifts."

After a moment of stilled silence, Sonic sighed, his enormous smile fading into one of hidden emotions,"Sit down, Shads. I think we need to talk."

Doing as he was told, he sat down on the couch the blue hedgehog sitting beside him to start their needed conversation.

"I've been thinking a lot," Sonic began,"and if my friends heard me say that, they'd call me crazy." He gave off a small chuckle,"but that's besides the point."

Looking into Shadow's eyes, Sonic took a much needed deep inhale," Shadow, I don't know if you feel the same way or if this is too soon for you because of the trauma you went through or even if you 'swing' that way, but I feel like I have to tell you now before you dissapear again. And I really don't want you to do that nor do I want to scare you away, but.. I like you. A lot. Im starting to like you more than a friend and, you know, I'm okay with just being friends if you don't feel the same."

Shadow's mind caugh up with his ears as Sonic continued to ramble on, his chest aching to do something and his head screaming at him to show or tell Sonic that he feels the exact same way, but how? He has never been shown or given affection the whole time we had been alive; on the Ark or otherwise. How was he supposed to show someone that he cares for them?

"Shads?"

The ebony hedgehog looked back up into the emerald green eyes that stared at him. How long was he waiting for a response?

"You don't have to say anything, you can take your time with this information because I know it's a lot to handle and that you have other things on your plate," Sonic smiles, placing a hand on an ebony shoulder before standing up and proceeding towards the kitchen to make some food for the both of them, leaving the biohog to his thoughts.

...

Sonic was soundly sleeping on the couch, his light snoring signifying the blue hero was in a deep sleep. Shadow snuck out of the room, the brace holding his hip was more than a nuisance but since he couldn't use his Chaos abilities to heal himself, he would have to bare with it.

Taking one last look back into the living room to make sure Sonic was completely asleep, he headed towards the bathroom.

Taking his black smartphone out of his head quils, he typed in the password and entered the messaging app. Once there, he immediately opened the private conversation between him and the doctor and explained the current plans and details of the resistance ambush that was supposed to take place within the next week. They were supposed to enter Dr. Eggman's secret lair in Mobotropolis to attain secret files with the help of the Freedom Fighters.

The black hedgehog sighed, taking a long look at himself in the mirror.

He was.. happy here with Sonic. Why ruin it by continuing to connect with the Dr? He could destroy the phone easily and explain to Sonic everything. He would understand, right?

No.

He couldn't risk losing the blue hedgehog yet.

He valued their relationship more than he valued life.

With a quick nod to his reflection, Shadow decided to continue his facade.


	10. Undercover

**I love that you guys love my writing!! It makes me really happy. And you're right, distantwanderer, age is nothing. I'll probably be writing these for way longer than I expect! And trust me, this isn't the end of the story yet. There is still a lot more I have planned for this.**

**If you guys have fics, lemme know! I've read some and I love your guys stories.  
Enjoy guys!**

**Ps, this chapter is weird because I thought it would be funny.**

**...**

His bones popped out of discomfort as Sonic stretched, his yawning made his muzzle scrunch up and relax as he settled back down.

He had felt Shadow leave the couch, but didn't expect the hedgehog to be in the bathroom so long.

'Maybe my signature chili dogs were too much for him to handle,' with a quick snicker, he stood up and headed towards the restroom door, before he could knock, sensitive blue ears caught the light sound of fingers eagerly tapping away at something.

Deciding it was not something he should bring up for the moment, he gently tapped on the door,"hey, Shads, you okay in there?"

There was shifting before an answer as the door opened, the black hedgehog looking as stoic as ever with a glint of guilt glimmering in his eyes,"yes. Everything is fine, Sonic."

"Oh okay, just making—"

"If you don't mind, I would like you to tell me about your friends. I am interested in how you seem to have so many."

The question threw Sonic for a loop, but he quickly recovered from his stumbled thoughts,"oh. Yeah, sure, well, you go sit at the table and I'll go get my photo album."

With a quick nod, they parted ways to their desired destination.

'That's odd. He's only been interested in stuff about me, I wonder why he's suddenly so interested in my friends,' quickly searching the room for the photo album, he continued his thoughts,' he's been acting.. odd, lately. He was so naive and innocent when Tails and I first found him, then after he was taken away by Eggman, he changed. Obviously trauma is a factor in all this but something else is at play here. He doesn't seem to have the usual PTSD behavior or seem to want to hide from everything like most people who are captured by Eggman. It seems like the event of him being captured was more of a training session than anything else.'

Sonic sighed, concluding that he would keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior from the biohog. As much as he wanted Shadow to be okay, he could feel in his gut that something else was at play.

Believing this to be the right choice, he headed out of his room, photo album tucked gently under his arm as he walked back to the kitchen table.

As he entered the room, ruby eyes immediately locked into emerald green. The blue hedgehog sat next to Shadow and slid the photo album open.

...

Shadow cautiously examined and mentally filed down every one of Sonic's friends, gathering intel on each and every species and weaknesses along with weather they were currently in their own dimension or residing in Sonic's for the time being.

As Sonic left to put away the photo album, Shadow quickly whipped out his phone and typed away at the messaging screen. His delicate fingers easily not missing a beat as he wrote down who was in their dimension and where they were currently.

A gut wrenching feeling enveloped his chest as he put his phone away, the feeling of betrayal emerging and slowly enveloping his being.

His ears folded back, the thin skin on his ears blocking out the soft taping of Sonic's shoes as he walked back into the room.

Green eyes stared at the distracted ebony male, watching his body language shift uncomfortably as he stared off towards the edge of the table, seemingly hyper fixated on the minimal scratches etched into the hardwood from years of use.

They stayed in silence, the dark furred male in a distracted trance. After a few more minutes of uninterrupted silence, Sonic cleared his throat, ruby eyes automatically shooting up and locking with his own.

"Oh, hello. How long have you been standing there?" Shadow's deep voice entranced the azure male.

Taking a seat across the table, Sonic shrugged,"not long."

After a short pause, Sonic abruptly stood up," let's go somewhere. Do something. I bet you're bored from sitting here and staring at the wall all day long."

Shadow subconsciously tilted his head slightly, the sudden conversation change catching him off guard. The sensation of the head tilt and combination of looking at Sonic brought a weird fuzzy flashback:

_The hedgehog tilted his head, his black ears flopping to the side. _

_Sonic chuckled as he scrubbed the shampoo onto Shadow's dampened fur, the smell from the residue of green goo slowly diminishing and was being replaced by a woodsy smell. _

_Ruby eyes looked around the small room, the pearly white tiles that lined the shower dropped with water from the steam of the bath water. _

_He looked down at the water surrounding his body, noticing a peach furred hand rubbing soap across his left arm. _

_As his gaze traveled further down his own body, he noticed **other **things seeming out of control. He wasn't sure if the blue hedgehog bathing him noticed this particular problem._

_Although he had the innocence of a young Mobian, his body was approximately seventeen or older, so of course his hormones were acting up and giving him trouble in this particular area._

_He cocked his head, unsure of what to do with this.. new experience. Looking back up to meet green eyes, he made sure to glance black down to between his legs at the unmentioned problem._

_Sonic, being quick to react, retracted his hand as a blush spread across his muzzle,"oh, uh, I didn't notice that."_

_Making sure to keep his gaze **above **the erected area, he became quiet. Not sure what to say or do, he suddenly became quiet._

_"Uh," Sonic guessed ignoring the problem in total would help it go away. Quickly reaching over to turn the faucet to the shower head, the pressure was forcing the water out of the shower head and onto the black hedgehogs fur. _

_After the water was drained, Shadow was rinsed off, and the unsolicited boner was gone, Sonic had draped a towel around the black hedgehogs shoulders._

_"Gotta dry you up now."_

"Shadow?"

Snapping back to reality, he looked around the room, realizing he dozed off into the seemingly dream like déjà vu.

Sonic looked at him cautiously,"uh, you okay?"

Nodding, he furrowed his brows,"did.. did you bathe me?"

Suddenly embarrassed, Sonic laughed as a blush spread across his face,"oh, Chaos, yeah I did. I almost forgot about that."

Shadow narrowed his eyes,"why?"

Caught off guard by the sudden attitude, Sonic answered nicely,"because you were scared of the bathroom and the water and you smelt like a dumpster from the capsule we found you in."

Suddenly confused, Sonic cautiously approached his next question,"you don't remember, do you?"

Closing his mouth before he could slip up his cover, before he could speak, Sonic spoke up again.

"You don't remember anything before you were taken, do you?"


	11. Betrayal

**I'm really sorry for the lag in updates. I've been going through some stuff and haven't had the motivation to continue writing, but here I am! I wrote this song while listening to Entombed by Deftones, enjoy!**

Shadow sat on the dining room chair, his thoughts scrambling to try and make up an excuse. Sonic was _right. _Why didn't he remember the things the blue hedgehog was talking about?

Eggman warned Shadow that the blue hedgehog would try and make it seem as if they met before, but something was different.

Sonics emerald green eyes showed.. confusion and distrust yet his face was almost as stoic as his own.

"I..." for once in his life, the bio engineered hedgehog had no explanation as to _why _he didn't recall the events that happened. "I don't know."

Sonic squinted slightly, the distrust growing if only slightly,"how far back _do _you remember."

Resisting the urge to resort to pinning his ears back when he did whenever Eggman brought out torture devices, he cleared his throat,"I remember waking up on Eggman's table. That is as far back as I can recall. I'm sorry I have mislead you to believe I was the same person you remembered. I believed I was doing the right thing, hiding my true purpose. My _new _purpose."

The blue hedgehog was speechless. Sonic had only assumed the bio-hedgehog was now lying about remembering when he was first released from the capsule by himself and Tails. He _did not _expect anything more to be revealed.

"What 'new purpose' are you talking about?" Sonic stood cautiously, not knowing what the black hedgehog was truly capable of doing.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow stood up, his ears finally bending backwards in a sign of relentless submission,"I've been feeding The Doctor with information on you and your friends and your plans to infiltrate his secret bases."

Sonic looked completely appalled at the betrayal and heartache this information caused. He subconsciously took a step back, anger fueling his voice as he narrowed his eyes at the black hedgehog his heart once beat for,"get out."

"What?" Shadow took a step forward but was met with a brutal stare from the blue hedgehog in front of him. His chest became heavy with guilt and it aches with an emotion he couldn't name.

"You can mess with me, play with my feelings, screw around with my head, but when you mess with my _friends_ who I consider _family_, that's where I draw the _line,"_ Sonic stood in a fighting stance incase the black hedgehog tried something," go back to the hole you crawled out of, Shadow the hedgehog. This is your only warning to leave, I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

The black hedgehog narrowed his eyes, but turned towards the door and stepped out nonetheless. His anger at himself fueling his steps as he walked out of sight from Sonic's house.

...

"What do you mean he was giving information to Eggman? He said he escaped from-" Tails was cut off by Sonic's angered voice at the betrayal.

"He _lies to us, _Tails," the energetic blue hedgehog paced back and forth, trying to release his anger and stress. "He pretended to know us- to become one of us- to get on our side to stab us in the back."

The twin tailed fox was about to speak up again but was interrupted by Sonic," chaos how could I be so stupid? It was obvious something was wrong but I was _blinded _because of how I felt toward him!"

That statement caught the fox kit off gaurd,"how you felt towards him..?"

Continuing his pacing, Sonic gave up in hiding the truth from his little brother," I fell for him. I liked him. It's what blinded me from realizing he wasn't actually on our side."

Taking a step towards his brother, Tails placed a hand on the cobalt hedgehog's shoulder," Sonic, I don't think that's why. I mean, _no one _realized it. Your feelings didn't get in the way of anything, we all believed he was the same person he was before. For all we know, Eggman could have brainwashed him or something. Don't you remember the paperwork we read? He's a biologically engineered hedgehog we found in a cryogenic chamber. He's prone to not remember things and to be distant, maybe Eggman did something to him and messed him up."

Sonic sighed, and crossed his arms,"you're right, I should give him the benefit of the doubt at least. But the thing is, I told him to leave and I haven't seen him since."

Rubbing his finger on his chin, Tails spoke up,"you know.. I think.. I think I remembered reading something about a microchip in Shadow's ear. But I think it would have been taken out, Shadow showed up at Rouge's house in pretty bad shape."

"It's worth a shot right? If Eggman fooled him enough and did all those beatings on him he still deserves to be saved even _if _he did pretend to be something he isn't," Sonic and Tails walked to the garage to find the discarded paperwork to see where exactly they could find a control panel in the crashed Space colony to see where Shadow was located.

After a quick search, Tails pulled up the files and read over them carefully,"hm, it only vaguely suggest that Shadow has a tracking device."

"Remind me again why we didn't use this when he was taken?" Sonic looked over his kit brothers shoulder to look at the documents in his hand.

"They only mentioned it once and after fifty plus years I'm not even sure it would continue to work."

Sonic shrugged it off,"let's go, bro. I know we'll be able to find something at least."

...

The duo arrived at the crashed space colony within the hour, just as before, they crept through the halls until they found the room Shadow was rescued from. The floor was covered in the same ooz that the ebony hedgehog had dripping off his body as he was released from the gel like prison.

Sonic sighed quietly before turning around and pointing out the lone computer in the corner of the room. The golden furred fox nodded and attacked a wire from his Miles Elecrric to the ancient computer to get a quicker read on the files hidden behind the locked hardware. After a few moments, the passcode and firewall were opened and the files came flooding in. Every known possible fact about Shadow the hedgehog had been written down and was now on Tails' tablet.

"Oh wow.. I knew we would get some good information, but I didn't know we would get _this_, of all things," Tails worries look concerned his older brother who scanned the words on the document on the screen.

"Wait.. So Shadow never found out that Maria was killed? How?"

"I'm not sure, it looks like the only copies of the incident were hidden under lock and key until this current copy was some how logged into the computer and saved manually. Someone deliberately put it in there for someone to find," Tails finished, he scrolled to another document.

"This one just talks about his power to manipulate Chaos Energy. That's important but not relevant to what we're looking for, I'll keep it pinned," the golden kit scrolled a few more times before finding the document that they were originally looking for.

"Damn," Sonic mumbled," the tracking chip was in his left ear, that was the one that was most damaged, it had a whole piece of flesh missing from it when he showed up at Rouge's house."

Knowing his brother was about to give up, Tails wracked his brain for another possible solution. When an idea popped into his head, he snapped his fingers,"wait! If he was injured in Eggman's base then the tracking chip must be still there! We can track it and find Eggman's current hidden base!"

"What are we waiting for? Let's bounce!"


	12. Friends through pain

**I'm so glad everyone is liking the story! My state is under major quarantine right now so there will be updates hopefully once a week! **

The black hedgehog scowled at the floor as he walked away from Sonic's house. He _knew _what he was supposed to say yet he _deliberately _told the blue hedgehog everything in _hopes _that he would understand to some degree. But in turn, Shadow DIDNT even know _what _he wanted Sonic to find out. Sonic claimed to know him from before he met the Doctor, but how was that possible? The Doctor had saved him from the cryogenic chamber, he knew this to be true because _he had memories of it!_ How could it be faked? Then again.. the Doctor did invent the inhibitor rings that surprised his powers that he currently wore against his will, maybe the memories were faked somehow. But that could be possible, it's impossible to have fake memories, isn't it? No.. the wandering black hedgehog remembered reading a passage about a lawyer or therapist invoicing fake memories to someone who then began to believe they _did _remember even though they never had done it in thefirst place just by the sheer over confidence of manipulation.

But the Doctor wouldn't do that.. yes, on occasion, he beat the poor hedgehog to the brink of death while he wore the surprising inhibitor rings but that was because he was training him to be a better fighter and become someone who was more obedient. A perfect soldier.

The Doctor always told Shadow to avenge Maria, but from what, he didn't know. She was taken from him many years ago, but that was all he knew. He had hoped to find her while being freed from cryogenic captivity but this was the first few days he had been outside. Most times he was kept secret underground, on miniature missions with Metal securing locations throughout the sewer systems and attacking smoke bombs filled with toxic gas-

_Oh no._

'Shit, I forgot about the missions metal and I were sent on,' Shadow mentally face palmed, Eggman was planning to set the bombs off around the city to contain everyone _including _capturing Sonic and his group of friends. How the _hell_ did he forget?

He growled as a high pitch ringing came from deep within his ear canal, his ears pinned back as the ringing got louder. Using his hands, he covered his overtly sensitive ears to no avail, the ringing was coming from _inside_ his head. He collapsed to his knees, his ebony body shook and trembled as the ringing continued.

It was getting too much to bare get he still felt the metallic claws of Metal Sonic wrap around his body and lift him into the air. Through the extremely loud ringing and hum of Metal's jets, he heard the robot say,"The Doctor is very displeased with you."

...

Sonic tapped his foot as he watched Tails tinker with his miles electric, trying to find the wave frequency that Shadow's tracking chip had previously been on.

"Find anything, Bud?" The blue hedgehog didn't dare look at the device in his little brother's hands, knowing he wouldn't able to understand a thing on it.

The golden furred kit sighed,"I had it, but something blocked it. Like a higher frequency near by over flooded the systems and fried the mainframe. It's an easy fix so we'll be on our way to him soon. Have you called Rouge and Knuckles?"

The blue hedgehog nodded,"yeah they're on their way. We don't know what we're up against so we need all the help we can get."

They both collectively went back to their own thoughts, Sonic thought about his feelings towards his new enemy as Tails fixed his tablet. A few minutes went by before a knock on the door to their shared house.

Sonic quickly stood up and headed to the door, stepping aside to let the newcomers inside, he motioned for them to sit at the table.

"What's going on, Big Blue? Why the sudden urgency?" Rouge's normally sultry voice was now laced with concern, noticing her friends depressing features and posture.

"Whatever it is, we can help," the master emerald's gaurdian chimed in, knowing Sonic needed their help one way or another,"but if this is another prank I'm going to kick your ass."

Sonic chuckled and rolled his eyes,"not a prank, Knucklehead. It's about Shadow-"

"Oh yeah, I noticed how you stared at him when he first came to my house, sugar," Rouge winked, her statement making the cobalt hedgehog blush if only slightly.

"No, no, not that," Sonic waved her off,"he's been working for Eggman. Now, I know what you're thinking, but we believe he might have been brainwashed by Eggman since he's a bio-engineered hedgehog."

"Bio-engineered? One, that's a big word for you, might even be your word of the day. Two, what does being a specimen born in a lab have to do with Eggman?" Knuckles crosses his arms over his chest.

Mocking Knuckles, Sonic put his hands on his hips,"_one, _you're an ass. _Two, _I was getting to that. His way of thinking can be modified forcefully by a tracking chip that _was _in his ear, but we're pretty sure Eggman took it out and has it in his base. We're tracking the location right now, but we don't know what we're up against so I called you two. Shadow wasn't harmful in any way, but he admitted to being on Eggman's side and that he didn't recall anything before he was taken from our house."

Taking a second to breathe, Sonic spoke up once again,"you guys saw the shape Shadow was in when he arrived at your house, so it's obvious Eggman is beating him _and _starving him. He had food while he was here but he ate like a starving child. I think he said something about living off Chaos Energy fueling himself so he didn't _have _to eat."

A few moments went by before Rouge spoke up,"so.. we're on a mission for what exactly?"

"Right, sorry, it's a possible rescue mission. If Shadow is in harms way, despite him deceiving us all, he should be set free. No one deserves to be someone else's puppet or punching bag," the cobalt hedgehog looked at his friends for confirmation on if they were joining or not.

All it took was one glance from Rouge to make Knuckles sigh and agree. The trio stood up and left to the garage where Tails was working on his miles electric.

"How's it going bud?" Emerald eyes scanned over the tablet in his kid brother's hands.

"Great, actually. I pinned down the location of the tracking chip to around sixty-three miles south-west of here. The signal is weaker than I'd like but it's something," his twin tailed swished behind him as he spoke to his friends."

"Great! Let's go!"


	13. Dismemberment

The ebony hedgehog growled as he was stabbed with another needle that injected an unknown serum into his blood stream. His body was weak from the beatings of Metal Sonic, his Chaos Powers weren't healing himself because of the inhibitor rings that prevented him from doing just that were still cuffed around his ankles and wrists.

The robotic arms that held the needle went back to their place on the wall, as they went into hibernation, Dr. Eggman's voice rained down on him from a speaker that hovered above him connected to the furthest wall.

"Stay awake, Project. In order for the serum to take full affect, you need to be in your weakest state but fully alert," the doctor's voice was monotone, his anger still not extinguished from previously along with the anger at Shadow's in capability to successfully succeed his mission.

Reluctantly, the black furred hedgehog stayed awake. He rolled over from his stomach to his back to sit up. Lean muscles screamed for him to stop moving, the soreness and pain from newly opened gashes making it almost unbearable. His veins burned as the serum courses through his body, the feeling of the burning caused him to clench his already aching muscles, which in turn made blood drip from his new cuts.

The pain was getting overbearing and too overwhelming, he growled and groaned in agony. A few moments that seemed like an eternity passed by, his body relaxed as he fell back, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he hit the cold floor.

"Metal, remove his cuffs and return his old ones. The serum has been completed."

The blue colored robot did as told, he scanned Shadow's body for signs of life and was met with an extremely low heart rate beating under ebony fur. Once completed, he returned outside of the containment chamber by Eggman's side. After a few minutes, Shadow's battered and bruised body slowly healed its self, his eyes fluttering awake.

"That is not Shadow," Metal's robotic voice spoke out as he looked at the ebony Mobian slowly stand.

"Oh but it is!" the doctor chipped happily,"In the serum I injected was a reprogramming mechanism that would reset his memory. But I modified it to see us as the good guys and the blue rodent and friends as the bad guys."

"That's what you did before."

The round man glared at the robot,"_yes, _but this time I programmed it so that he believes _Sonic _killed Maria. There's nothing that will stop him until he kills that blasted blue hedgehog, I have full control over him with this!-" the man held up a remote that controlled the device that was injected into Shadow's bloodstream along with the memory numbing serum."-he won't be able to resist commands! I have full control over him."

* * *

The engine of the Tornado roared over the sound of wind whipping past them. Knuckles and Sonic sat on opposite wings while Rouge sat behind the cockpit, Tails flying them to their desired destination.

"We're about 5 minutes out, everyone! Prepare for landing," the kit slowly steered the bi-plane downward, his flying experience being a great help with a smooth landing.

Once on solid ground, the foursome hopped out of their seats and onto the soft grass below. They were covered by nightfall, Rouge took to the sky to scout ahead while the remaining three followed the muted beeping of the tracking chip through the miles electric. They walked through the jungle of trees and bushes until the trio came to a halt.

"Why'd we stop?" Knuckles looked around,"there's nothing here."

Tails looked quizzical,"the tracking chip says it's right here, I don't know why it would lead us to the middle of the forest."

Using his trained eyes, Sonic looked around the forest, not seeing signs of anything. His cobalt ears twitched as he heard ruffling from the leaves above them,"wait-"

Within a moments notice, Rouge emerged from the sky,"hello, boys."

Knuckles let out a sigh of relief,"damnit, Rouge, you gave us all a heart attack!"

"Maybe only you, scardy-cat," she winked at the red echidna then turned to Sonic,"I found Eggman's base around 2 miles north, we're close."

Nodding, Sonic was about to tell his crew to start heading in the direction of the base but a flash of gold caugh his eye. Time seemed to be in slow motion as he saw what looked like a golden spear heading straight for his head emerged from the tree line. Using his super sonic speed, he pushed his friends out of the way, missing the spear by just a few quils.

The group was startled, Tails covered his head with his Miles electric while Knuckles stood up with Rouge who stood in a fighting stance. Rustling came from the direction the golden spear was shot from.

Out walked Shadow, healed completely of the cuts and bruises that littered his body only a day before. He was healed, yet something was off. His eyes were completely dilated, his body movement showed he was out for blood at the very least.

Golden sparks shot out of his clenched fists, the golden color the same as his inhibitor rings. His whole body radiated with pure Chaos Energy and anger.

Sonic immediately noticed the danger they were faced with, without turning to his friends, he spoke,"go to the base. See what Eggman did. Be careful."

Tails was about to protest but saw Sonic's quils stand on end, immediately sharpening. He noticed something was wrong with Shadow and a quick scan of Shadow's body showed signs of something that wasn't supposed to be there. Within a moments notice, the thrill took to the sky's towards the base while Sonic and Shadow stared at one another, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Shadow, I don't want to fight."

"You killed her."

Sonic was taken aback but didn't let it get the better side of him, still sensing the danger,"I didn't kill anyone, Shadow."

"Liar!" The ebony hedgehog growled almost savagely and the sparks in his clenched fists grew brighter as he threw another Chaos Spear toward the blue hedgehog, the other barely able to dodge it in their close proximity.

"Shadow!" Sonic growled back,"whatever Eggman told you is a lie!"

He summer saulted out of the way as Shadow jumped towards him, ready to punch the blue hedgehog.

Using Shadow's momentum against him, Sonic grabbed the fist that almost hit him with his left hand and used his right hand to put the ebony hedgehog into a choke hold,"_I_ was the one who found you! _I_ was the one who taught you your first words! _I helped you-"_

He was cut off when Shadow elbowed him in the stomach to free himself. Ebony gloved hands grabbed the blue hedgehog by the neck and threw him against a tree. Sonic yipped when his back hit the hard bark of the tree but ultimately jumped out of the way when Shadow's fist once again was aimed in his direction with Chaos energy fueling his every step.

Shadow's fist collided with the tree, snapping the years of growth in half with ease. The tree cracked as it tipped over and fell. Sonic's eyes widened as he thought,'shit.. he's stronger than I thought.'

Sonic's temporary thought caused him to miss the flying kick aimed in his direction as he was hit straight on. His face ached as he flew back, his eye already swelling up from the misuse.

He landed hard on the dirt covered ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise. Through the dust cloud, he saw the sparks of Shadow's fists coming closer to him. Taking the realization that Shadow was coming, he stood up quickly, ready to fight once again but was met with confusion.

He looked around, his left eye burning as he looked back and forth for his enemy. His body was starting to ache but he ignored it, resuming his fighting stance.

The trio circled the base, looking for a way in without alarming the system that intruders were around. Although it seemed pointless considering Shadow was lurking around fighting Sonic, the group was aware Eggman knew they were close.

Tailed turned to the remaining two," I just need to find a mainframe to connect to. If I can find that, I can see what Eggman did to Shadow."

The duo nodded and continued their quiet search. The older two noticed the blood thirsty stare Shadow had, he hadn't looked their way, his eyes only trained on Sonic as if they weren't there in the first place.

"Ive got a bad feeling about this," Knuckles looked at the sky, his body and mind screaming to be on high alert.

As if in cue, Metal Sonic emerged from the clouds above, his robotic stare glaring daggers at the trio.

"Nice going, Knuckles," Rouge stood ready to fight but turned to Tails," you go on ahead of us. We'll catch up after he kick some robot ass."

The dual tailed fox nodded and scurried off to complete his own mission as the older Mobians stood ready to fight Sonic's robot copy.

"Foolish Mobians. You cannot defeat me, I am Metal-"

Metal Sonic's dialog was ruined by a fairly large bolder hitting him square in the chest. Knuckles looked pleased as he said,"you even have Sonic's ego."

The robots glare got heavier as he charged at the two. Rouge was able to successfully preform a spinning heel kick to the engine of Metal Sonic's body but it wasn't enough to overpower him. The robot aimed his claws at Knuckles but was stopped when the red gaurdian caught his hand with ease.

"You've gotten weak, Metal. Eggman not paying you enough attention?" Knuckles smirked as he grabbed hold of Metal's body and stretched him out,"Now, Rouge!"

The ivory bat drop kicked her heel between Metal Sonic's head and body, successful dismembering his head from his body.

With a quick victory kiss, the duo left the robot to search for their twin tailed fox.


	14. Crimson Irises

Tails softly panted as he crawled through the air vent, his twin bushy namesakes swishing behind him. His miles electric concealed in his tails as he found a vent door below him that led into a room filled with computers of all sizes. Using his name-sakes, he hovered down and pulled out his tablet, connecting it to the closet computer while listening to any sounds outside of the room.

As he searched through the data base, his quick eyes scanned every word on the screen before stopping on a specific intake on something called **Serum-762**. Upon further inspection, he discovered it was a type of mixture that altered ones memory that blended with a new microchip that was inserted when Eggman first got a hold on Shadow.

"That must have been when Eggman first took Shadow," he scrolled a little lower and continued to read about a hand held device that controlled if Shadow remembered or not. "The serum is completely device controlled.. how.. _new._"

With a quick tap to his communicator, he spoke to Sonic's own communicator,"Sonic, apparently Shadow is under mind control. There's a hand held device that controls it but I'm pretty sure we already know where that's at."

Sonic grunted as he spoke back,"_Eggman, got it. Thanks bud!"_

_..._

Sonic glared at Shadow, there was barely a scratch on the ebony male. His Chaos energy was healing every cut and bruise he was given while Sonic was starting to struggle with every bruise and cut he was given, his body was starting to shut down.

After Tails' quick call, he knew he had to get Shadow to drop the fight and to find Eggman, but he knew Shadow was out for blood and wouldn't stop until he got just that. It was up to his other friends to find Eggman and take him down themselves.

"Shadow for the _last time_ listen to me!" The cobalt hedgehog jumped out of the way as the ebony male tried to successfully drop kick.

As if Shadow suddenly decided to listen to reason, all movement stopped, his face scrunched up in pain as he grabbed his head, the ear piercing ringing was once again making him drop to his knees and cover his ears. Growling, the male opened his eyes to look at Sonic, only for the blue male to stare at him confused and cautious.

"M-make.. it stop," barely able to speak now, the black hedgehog yelled as the ringing got louder.

Sonic stared in disbelief, he stared into the eyes of his current foe who's once dilated eyes were now mismatched. One eye was dilated while the other seemed completely normal yet Shadow was experiencing an unknown pain Sonic couldn't see or hear.

"Don't worry, Shadow," Sonic reaches a hand out only for it to be smacked away by the kneeling hedgehog in front of him.

"D-dont," he growled, his overly sharp canine teeth showing every time he spoke or growled.

"Shadow, I'm trying to help," sighing softly, Sonic spoke again," I'm going to find Eggman. I'll put a stop to this. You don't deserve this."

With that said, the cobalt hedgehog was gone only to be replaced with a small dust cloud in his wake.

The ringing continued to get louder, he clutched his head tighter as if it would make the pain subside.

'Why is this happening?' He thought to himself. Within a moments notice, his other eye dilated and the ringing stopped.

His body was trying to rid itself of the deadly serum, but to no avail, it's extremities we're too overwhelming for his Chaos Energy to heal by itself. He growled as his hover skates roared to life with Chaos Energy, fuel and anger once again aiding him. He dashed in the direction Sonic had left to.

...

Tails tapped away at his tablet, trying to manually force shut down the handheld device that controlled Shadow. He was successful for a few moments, but the signal somehow got stronger. His sensitive ears twitched as the sound of footsteps hurriedly approached his direction. Quickly diving behind a metal desk, he held his breath as the being entered the room and hurriedly tapped away at a computer across the room. A button emerged from a hidden hatch next to the keyboard and the person slammed it. Suddenly, a loud alarm rang throughout the base, Tails' sensitive ears were pinned against his head as the siren rang on for a few more seconds before going completely silent.

The sound of footsteps leaving was the only significant way the fox kit could tell he was once again alone. Curiosity getting the better part of him, Tails ran over to the computer and typed away at the screen, trying to determine what the being had put in to action.

He gasped, his baby blue eyes reading over every detail the document held,"oh _no."_

Bringing up his wrist watch communicator, he spoke to his friends,"guys! I think Eggman just launched something _horrible! _It's the size of a six story building and this thing is _massive!"_

Knuckles voice sounded from his ear piece,"_what are you talking about? There's nothing out here!"_

Sonic spoke next,"_don't worry bud, whatever it is, we can handle it. Try and find Eggman and shut down the device that's controlling Shadow! He's on my tail and I can't shake him."_

Tails nodded although he knew his brother couldn't see him,"I'm on it! Stay safe everyone!"

...

The large metal doors screeched open for the first time in six years, loud metallic footsteps paraded out of the darkness. The large metal robot roared to life as glowing red eyes pierced out from the bunker, it's eyes scanning the distance and easily spotting the base it was needed at.

Upon stepping out from the shaded area of the bunker, it easily spotted what appeared to be a blue streak followed closely by a golden colored on. Easily scanning and concluding the blue streak was infact the blue hedgehog, the gigantic robot set off towards the speed demon, ready to annihilate the problem.

It's robotic voice spoke aloud, it's booming voice echoing throughout the open plains," _initiating annihilation, preparing for take off."_

Within a moments notice, the boosters connected to the gigantic robots back fired off, propelling it even faster than its walking speed.

Sonic's ears twitched when an overtly loud engine could be heard, he turned his gaze to the horizon, easily spotting the large silver robot with Eggman's logo on its chest flying towards him. Before he could stop and turn to avoid the large metal claw of the robot coming his way, he was smacked and flew through the air, his arm snapped in half at the sheer force of the hit. The bone crunching sound made even Shadow cringe, not sure of where the robot came from. The ebony hedgehog easily recognized the robot to be from the T-Series that the Doctor had shown him from his earlier years with the large robust man. 

After finally seeing it finished and actually _larger _than it originally was, he easily concluded that the robot was on his side, but finishing his revenge for him was something he _wasn't _going to let happen.

The crimson striped male watched as his enemy flew through the sky and hit the ground hard. His body was already tore up and bruised from his own battle with the cobalt male but now trained ruby eyes could easily see the broken limb that Sonic held. The cobalt hero trembled as he stood up, his left arm hung onto his broken right one. He tried to run to avoid the stomping robot but his newly dislocated hip. 

Without thinking, Shadow bolted towards his rival, his willpower over driven by something awakening inside him. His heart beat inside his chest as he sent more Chaos power to his hover skates, gaining more speed as every second passed. 

His vastly pumping heart fueled his body, slowly but naturally draining the mind controlling serum from his bloodstream. Before the robot could touch a quill on the blue hedgehog's body, Shadow curled himself into a ball, Chaos energy sparks covering his body as he tore through the metal limb, leaving a hole in its wake.

The robot detected Shadow as the hedgehog entered and exited his foot and prevented him from stepping on the prime enemy. It watched as the hedgehog landed on the floor, glaring at its red robotic eyes as the T-series robot computed the new threat. After a few key calculations and a new order from Eggman, the robot aimed its claw towards the ebony hedgehog. Seeing it's immediate attack, Shadow jumped out of the way in time to avoid the claws that would surely break bones.

Before he could react, Shadow watched in horror as the robot used its foot to kick the blue hedgehog out of the way, successfully knocking the already broken and bruised hedgehog out.

Time seemed to slow down as Shadow growled, his pupils dilating significantly as his body pulled on the Chaos Energy from the atmosphere, this new power being new. Sparks irrupted and surrounded his body as he drew in the energy, it's power fueling his rage. In turn to sucking in any and all Chaos Energy, he was also redirecting some to Sonic to heal his wounds and broken arm.

His yelled and clutched his head as the loud ringing surrounded his head once again, his Chaos consumption never stopping nonetheless.

_'Shadow..'_

The black hedgehogs eyes shot open as he looked around for the familiar voice. He _knew _that voice. It was _hers._

_'Be brave, Shadow,'_ the voice spoke out,_'bring joy and happiness to the world below us.'_

The memory of one of the girls last words to him was replaying in his head, this memory being true and not made up by Eggman. He clutched his head again as all the memories came flooding back into him, memories from the Ark while it was still in space, his friends death, and finally, Sonic and Tails rescuing him from the capsule and caring for him.

Sonic groaned as the last of his wounds healed, now standing, he watched in horror as Shadow held his head. Without warning, the black hedgehog yelled at the top of his lungs, all the Chaos Energy that was surging through his body now flowed around him in a golden trance. Green eyes watched as Shadow outstretched his arms as the power of Chaos shot out from the palms of his hands, his fur flicking with golden strands as his trapped anger and treachery now flowed freely. 

Watching the silver colored robot, Sonic noticed the T-series was stuck in place, now seeing the golden Chaos Energy holding it still. Without warning, Shadows body exploded in Chaos energy, the once golden color now an intoxicating red as he preformed the biggest Chaos Blast known on Mobius. 

Sonic was blown back as the sheer force of the Chaos Blast tore through the open field and ripped apart the base Eggman resided in.

The trio barely had any time to escape the crumbling debris of the once secret base to seek safety. Spotting his older brother, Tails called to Rouge and Knuckles to meet with the blue hedgehog.

As the trio met up with the cobalt hero, they watched in horror as another Chaos Blast radiated from Shadow's body, this one being even more powerful, it's power ripping the metal from the robots body, it's wires and interior mechanics now showing. 

Sonic suddenly fell to the floor as he felt his Chaos Energy draining, his body felt weak but he was able to pull himself together enough for Tails to grab ahold of him and help him stand. Within a moments notice, what felt like all the surrounding Chaos Energy left their current position and powered Shadow as his body started to glow golden, his red stripes and irises shown bright through the golden at was blinding the four friends. After a few seconds, they heard the hedgehog speak, his voice now seeming deeper and menacing.

"_I am Shadow the Hedgehog," _he growled as the Chaos energy flowed from his body to his palms,"_you have deceived me for the last time, Doctor." _

With one final push, Shadows body threatened to fall apart as he yelled in agony as the Chaos Blast completely erased any evidence of the robot that once stood five stories tall.

The world seemed to spin as his body faded back to black fur, his crimson eyes rolled back as he fell to the floor, all of his Chaos Energy completely drained.

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled out, using the last bits of his energy, he ran towards the hedgehog on the floor followed closely by his friends. "Tails, we have to help him!"

The voices started to fade as Shadow drifted further into his unconscious state, soon, he heard nothing but the sound of familiar voices.

"Who's there?" He called out into the black void.

'_Shadow?'_

His heart beat in his chest, afraid it would break out of his body and run to the person who spoke,"Ma-.. Maria?"

"Oh Shadow.." the young girl appeared in front of him, his eyes immediately watering at the sight of her. "I've missed you so much."

He wrapped his arms around her as she did the same. Tears flowed down his face as his beloved friend spoke up once again,"I've longed to see you, Shadow the Hedgehog, but now is not your time."

He looked at her, about to speak when he noticed she seemed to be floating backwards and fading away,"Maria?"

His vision faded to black and suddenly he was choking on something lodged in his throat. He couldn't open his eyes but heard the voices speaking.

"He's choking! Take the intubation tube out!"

"Okay, Shadow, relax," another voice spoke up and the tube was slowly being removed to not damage his throat,"take deep, slow breaths."

Shuffling could be heard before what felt like someone's gloves hand was placed against his cheek,"Shadow.. can you hear me?"

The ebony hedgehog still couldn't open his eyes, his body too weak to do anything just yet, but the voice spoke up once again when he realized Shadow wasn't going to respond.

"I love you, Shadow. I loved you from the moment I met you," the male voice sighed,"I'm only telling you this because I know you can't hear me. I just had to tell you one way or another."

Two sets of footsteps approached, one sounded like heels on a concrete floor while the other sounded heavy.

A sultry, female voice spoke up,"how's he doing, Big Blue?"

The voice that confessed his affection for the black hedgehog spoke,"he's breathing on his own now. Tails figured out his body runs purely on Chaos Energy so he has the Master Emerald hooked up to some wires that are connected to Shadow. He said he should awake sometime this week, but that it's hopeful thinking."

A gruff voice now spoke,"Sonic, are you sure keeping him alive is the right thing to do? He _did _try to kill you."

The hand was removed from his cheek as the love confesser spoke again,"He was under some sort of mind control, a Knuckles. He needs to have _his own_ life. Not one that controls his every move."

The gruff voice now known as Knuckles, spoke again,"suit yourself, but we still can't find Dr. Eggman. We had a search team led by Amy and the resistance search the rubble but they said no one could have survived the Chaos Blast at that power rate."

The sultry voice spoke now, Shadow recognizing it as Rouge the bat now that his memory was slowly coming back to him,"who knew such a small hedgehog had such _power _like that. It was like seeing you in your super form on rampage mode."

Sonic sighed,"I know. He's capable of way more than we thought, but that's one of the reasons he needs to be free from all this possession. He needs freedom. You guys _saw _all that pent up anger and frustration."

Another pair of footprints entered, Shadow recognizing it as the fox kit, Tails," hey guys, maybe we should let Shadow rest, continue this conversation in the living room. He's still trying to regain all his energy."

Knuckles and Rouge agreed but Sonic stayed, his peach yet gloves hand drawing circles around the veins of Shadow's hands.

Slowly, Shadow opened his tired and weighed down eyes, looking over Sonic as the blue hedgehog continued to stare off into the distance in his own daze.

"I feel the same towards you, hedgehog."

Sonic's eyes immediately followed the sound of his ebony furred friend speaking, the statement the black hedgehog said going straight over the blue ones head,"Shadow!"

Without thinking, Sonic leaped up and wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the black hedgehog, burying his nose in the crook of Shadow's shoulder, inhaling the natural scent of the ebony's fur.

Shadow was taken aback by the sudden feeling of arms being wrapped around him, but he quickly gave in to the comforting feeling as he wrapped his own red striped, weak arms around the blue hedgehog.

Sonic was so taken with joy he leaned his forehead against Shadow's, laughing with pure happiness as tears slowly fell down his peach cheeks,"I was afraid you weren't going to wake up!"

Shadow was stunned by the sudden movement and closeness of the other, his body screaming at him, telling him to do _something. _Taking initiative, tan lips met peach ones as Sonic's eyes widened in complete shock but gave in to the sparks in his stomach, eagerly kissing back.

After a few seconds turned to minutes, both hedgehogs pulled apart. Emerald green irises gazed intently into crimson. Their eyes being windows to each other's hearts, saying the words they couldn't.


	15. Love

**Well guys! It's finally here! This story is coming to an end, but the adventure never stops! But for now, here's a lemon and the ending to this fanfic. Thank you everyone who supported and read, it continues to give me motivation to write. Enjoy, everyone!**

Shadow stared off into the distance, his crimson red eyes looking at nothing particular. His chest slowly heaved to his breathing, lean muscles showing only slightly through his fur. It had only been a few days since the incident, his body was still healing from the amount of force he used on the Chaos Blast that irradiated Dr. Eggman's base and the T-Series robot.

His mind had been a complete mess after he had awoken, but he still remembered the tender and gentle kiss that he partook in with the blue hedgehog.

It was too much for him, he was aware of the blue hedgehogs feelings for himself, but there was too much on his plate right this minute.

A deep rooted sigh left his tan lips as he slowly stood up from the patio chair he was sitting on, after adjusting himself, he slowly limped into Sonic's house, being sure to close the door behind him.

Although he wanted to see and explore the world around him, the doctor was still not found and he didn't want to risk getting spotted by anyone who might be incontact with the robust human.

He had the house to himself for the time being, his new house mates were out meeting with the resistance and Princess Sally.

The dark male could tell Sonic hadn't trusted him like he used to, it was obvious with the way he spoke to him about minor details for the resistance. The blue speedster had refused to include Shadow to anything revolving around the Resistance or the Freedom Fighters. It was fair, in Shadow's opinion, he _did _lie and deserved to be punished in such ways.

As he continued his journey to the kitchen, his thoughts continued to rain in. A sigh was heard once more,'how could he trust me after all I have done? I don't deserve the kindness he has shown me in the _slightest. _He has shown me true kindness without expecting me to give anything in return aside from descent hospitality.'

After brewing another cup of coffee, the hedgehog grabbed the dark blue mug and headed for the living room to see what was on tv, enjoying the peacefulness of the early morning.

...

Sonic tapped away at the large round table he sat on, not exactly listening to anything the leaders of the resistance were saying.

They had called an emergency meeting to discuss the current events that had unfolded with not only Eggman but Shadow as well.

"-I don't think he should have free will with the distruction power he has," a Mobian knight from the Freedom fighters spoke up.

This immediately caught Sonic's attention,"you don't think someone who was trapped his whole life deserves _freedom?_"

The Mobian looked distraught at the sudden voice of the blue hero who had been quiet the entire time,"his power is uncontrollable and as far as we know, this could be part of Eggman's whole plan!"

Sonic 'tsk'ed,"Shadow had a hard life, he had pent up anger and feelings he didn't know and the constant manipulation directed him in the wrong direction. I think if we _give him a chance, _he'll do the right thing."

"Sonic's right, he might have been created in a lab but he's still Mobian, believe it or not. He has hedgehog DNA and deserves the right to freedom and expression," the leader of the freedom fighters, Princess Sally, spoke up now.

The discussion progressed until they had all come to a conclusion.

Sally placed her hands on her hips as she faced the blue hero,"so it's settled, Shadow stays with Sonic until he can prove himself to not be a threat. This means you two-,"she pointed at Sonic and Tails,"-will need to Lee a close eye on him. He isn't to leave either of your sights until further notice. This is only temporary and to serve purpose to make sure he is becoming who he wants to be."

The hedgehog and fox duo nodded as they stood from their seats and proceeded homeward. Little did they know, Sally had already asked Nicole to track their computer searches and home networks for any unknown devices in their house.

...

"I dunno, Sonic,"Tails scratched his head as Sonic looked for the key to their house,"I'm not sure now is a good time for that."

"Nonsense, bud! A little fresh air is good for everyone,"as the door swung gently open, Sonic's ears perked to hear any unknown noise. Upon hearing nothing, he called out Shadow's name.

When he didn't get a response, he quickly looked at Tails, concern and worry covered his face as he cautiously jogged to the spare bedroom where Shadow normally resided. Before he could knock on the bedroom door, the brown wooden door swung open to revealed a tired looking Shadow.

"May I help you?"

Sonic internally sighed with relief,"sorry, I got worried."

Red eyes scanned the blue hero's features,"you assumed I was contacting the doctor, correct?"

Sonic sighed,"yeah, I'm sorry. I-" blue ears flattened against his head as he carefully approached their next topic of conversation,"I don't fully trust you just yet."

"That's reasonable," Shadow opened the door wider,"you are more than welcome to search the room, I have nothing to hide and I would like to be as transparent as possible until you do find the power to trust me again."

Holding up his hand, Sonic shook his head,"that's not necessary, I just want complete honesty in this relationship."

"Relationship?"

Nearly choking on his spit, Sonic spoke up,"no, no, sorry, I meant, uh, friendship."

Shadow had only made a 'mm' sound before moving past Sonic and headed towards the kitchen, ignoring the blue hedgehogs comment about relationships. Although the feelings between the two hedgehogs were _very _mutual, Shadow couldn't bring himself together enough to show any type of affection. Atleast not the way the blue hedgehog would recognize.

Upon hearing footsteps behind him, Shadow turned around to see the twin tailed fox he rarely spoke with.

"Hey," the fox scratched his chin,"can we talk?"

Nodding, Shadow's ears perked with an intent on only listening, not exactly sure what the fox would need to discuss at this very moment.

After taking a deep breath, Tails spoke,"I probably shouldn't be saying anything, but I like to think we've grown to be friends. Sonic and I just came back from a meeting with the Freedom Allegiance to discuss any and all options revolving around you. For the sake of my brothers feelings and the want to have your own freedom, dont screw up. They're all watching closely, and I know you have good in your heart, Shadow. You've been pushed around way to many times to get locked up again if they catch you slipping. I just want you safe. If you don't do it for yourself, then do it for Sonic. I see the way you two look at eachother and I typically don't get into other people's relationships because it's not my business. I know you need time to figure out who you are without anyone controlling you and I respect that, but I hope to Chaos you choose to stay on the good side with not only me, but with Sonic."

Taking in all the information, Shadow nodded, placing his right hand on the kits shoulder momentarily before speaking,"I appreciate this information, Tails. I plan to stay on the good side, I made a promise to an old friend that I would protect this planet on her behalf, I don't plan to dishonor her wishes."

With all that said, the fox smiled before grabbing a side from the fridge and leaving the black hedgehog to his own thoughts.

Although he was very aware of the situation he was in and didn't have a clue as to who he truly is, maybe it would be more comforting to find that all out with someone supporting his every stride. Someone who has shown he would and _has been _there every step of the way. But he had never been shown such kindness or had ever experienced romantic or sexual relations. How was he supposed to handle this?

He looked out into the living room where Tails sat watching tv and then turned his attention to Sonic's bedroom. Obviously he couldn't ask Sonic to help him woo himself and although Tails was older now, he still was too young. He was going to do this head on, possibly learn to cook the blue hedgehogs favorite dinner dish and perhaps a walk at night. Those were genuinely underrated and Sonic might even enjoy it. The small details he would have to work out impromptu.

As the day continued, Sonic seemed to make sure Shadow was in shouting distance almost every thirty minutes on the dot, the hedgehog in turn was growing incredibly annoyed by such occurrences but continued responding back nonetheless to help put the blue ones mind at ease.

The evening was upon them, Shadow had spent the day in the kitchen preparing - what he hoped - perfectly crafted chili dogs, Sonic's favorite. He remembered the day he was given actual food, Sonic had offered to make chili dogs but that very night, Shadow was taken from them.

A shiver crawled up his spine as he recalled the night, shaking it off and continued to stir the pot of chili. Luckily for him, Tails had errands to run and Sonic was fast asleep on the couch, most likely from boredom. But it was all in his favor, he wouldn't want the blue one to come to his senses before the ebony male could properly prepare the dish for their night.

As he was about to grab the ladle to pour the chili on the hot dog, Sonic's rapid footprints could be heard along with the sound of his obnoxious sniffing to entrap the delicate smell of his favorite food.

"You made chili dogs!" Sonic was already trying to grab the plate Shadow held in his hands.

"Go, Sit at the table, hedgehog, I plan to serve you," was his only response. Sonic took the initiative and rushed to the dinner table, already keeping an eye on the tasty food held on the plate in Shadow's gloved hands.

After handing Sonic a plate with three of the delicacy and handing the blue hedgehog a soda, he himself sat down across from the other to enjoy what he hoped was edible food.

"I have never cooked before, I apologize if it is inedible,"Shadow grabbed the bun and held the food close to his mouth, sniffing it slightly before engorging himself in the tasty food.

Sonic was already on his third one before he spoke up, barely giving himself time to swallow,"how'd you learn to make it? It's great!"

Shadow shrugged," Tails had given me his tablet to look up the recipe before he left."

Taking a sip of his soda, Sonic stood up to make more of his favorite food,"dude, it's great! I nominate you to make chili-dogs all the time!"

To Shadow's dismay, being called 'dude' by the hedgehog he wanted to be in a relationship made him cringe only slightly," I would be honored, Sonic."

Dinner was enjoyed with light yet pleasant conversation, Shadow had suggested a walk around the block but Sonic questioned about the limp in his step when he walked.

"I assure you it's nothing to be concerned with, I'm still recovering my Chaos levels but I would still like to continue our night," Shadow stood slowly, making sure not to hurt himself as he stood. He reached out his gloved hand for Sonic to take, he didn't know if the butterfly feeling in his stomach was normal when Sonic had grabbed his hand. The blue hedgehogs smile held a specific smirk while his eyes held nothing but mischief.

They strolled out of the house at a rather slow pace, but with the setting sun and eagerness to turn this into something more, the timing and pace seemed perfect.

"So, at one point, you were.. a werehog?"

"Yeah! It was crazy you didn't get injured when the planet broke apart," Sonic shrugged as he laughed.

Shadow stopped in his tracks to look the other in the eyes,"I think you're lying, I would have _known _if the planet broke apart."

This statement caused the blue hedgehog to laugh and unintentionally squeezing Shadow's hand,"you didn't know the planet broke apart?! Oh man, you are gonna love coming on adventures with me."

Shadow stood in an almost dazed state with blushed cheeks as he stared at the hedgehog in front of him, basking in the pure beauty and radiance the other hedgehog beamed without even trying.

With the golden hues of the sunset and the pure joyous laughter, the hedgehog was something made of pure _good _in the world and Shadow needed - no - _craved _the pure happiness and joy Sonic had. Without warning, Shadow leaned in, connecting their lips. Sonic gasped, but was quickly drawn into the tender feeling. The kiss itself was incredibly sloppy, Shadow having no experience other than the brief kiss he shared with the male when he was barely waking up and Sonic just never having kissed anyone in general.

Sonic wrapped his arms around Shadow's neck, pulling the other closer to himself. Their bodies pushed together looked like two perfect pieces of the same puzzle. Sonic was the only one of the two who actually _knew _what to do in this situation, having been a sucker for some romantic movies.

Shadow was a complete novice in the field but his body was reacting in ways one would do only in _private._ Luckily for him, he was able to control himself enough to calm his body. After their lips parted - and a small string of saliva connecting their lips broke - Sonic could only look into crimson eyes in complete longing.

Before Shadow could say anything, Sonic burst out in laughter. This caused Shadow to blush immensely and frown, figuring he did something wrong.

In between his laughter, he spoke," was this a date? Because if it was, I am _completely _obvious!"

Shadow tilted his head in confusion,"date? I'm not sure what that means."

Sonic smiles warmly as he took hold of Shadow's hand and started their journey back to their house,"it's something you do when you like someone. Take them out, show 'ema good time, make out a little, innocent stuff."

"Innocent? Is there a non innocent type of date?"

Now it was Sonic's turn to blush as he rubbed his nose with his free hand,"uh, yeah. That's probably when the couple, like, has sex and stuff."

Shadow cocked his head in confusion still," i am not aware what these words are."

"Oh geez," Sonic laughed in slight embarrassment,"okay, so, remember the time I had to bathe you? The very first time? And you had that little.. '-accident'?"

Shadow nodded, remembering the occurrence.

"Okay, so that's your... _penis.. _and sex is when two people -male with male, female with male, or female with female - engage in.. intercourse. Basically you put your _penis _in the male's uh 'tail-hole' or the female's... _vagina.. _"

"I'm assuming this is done in private considering your lack of enjoyment in explaining this to me."

"Correct," Sonic began to laugh again but quieres down quickly," sex is something everyone experiences atleast once. It's something you want to experience with a trusted partner, someone you know will stay by your side when things get rough. I'm all for the romance and lovey gestures, I don't typically engage in hook-up culture."

Shadow nodded once again, choosing his next words carefully,"I trust you and I know you'll stay by my side."

This in turn made Sonic's fur turn as red as Shadow's stripes,"w-what?"

"I wish to engage in sex with you," Shadow blurted, gaining a few stares from passerby's who looked at them quizzically.

Sonic bursted with laughter from nervousness and pure enjoyment,"Shads, you barley found out what sex _is! _How do you expect us to try it?"

Shadow shrugged,"the end goal of this 'date' was for you to see we're compatible in more ways than one. I wish to seal the deal and claim you as _mine."_

Stopping his laughter to blush and respond, Sonic swallowed the butterflies in his stomach. The way Shadow phrased the sentence made his heart flutter in an emotion he wasn't sure he's ever felt before but he definitely _knew _it was a good feeling,"well.. we'll see what happens in the future."

Shadow nodded, appreciating the response he was given. Their walk back home was carried on in the dark, their laughter and voices filled the air without any awkwardness.

Once home, the duo decided to continue their chit chat on the couch, snacks shared between them.

"Maria was the only one on the Ark that had shown me any kind of kindness, everyone else just wanted to run test on me."

"Maria seems like she has a heart of gold."

"She did, she often spoke to me, but it was always muffled between the glass and ooz plugging my ears."

"I bet she was saying some pretty nice things."

It took Shadow a few moments to respond," I think she would have liked you."

"You think so?"

"I do. She seemed to have a heart of gold, everyone she talked to ended with a large smile or laughter."

They sat in silence, one filled with happy thoughts and hopeful wishing. Their eyes met, Sonic's shining eyes stared longingly into Shadow's, his own crimson eyes begging the blue hedgehog to return his feelings.

Sonic took initiative and kissed Shadow, their tongues intermingling in a dance only they could complete. Sonic's breathing became harder and deeper, his labored breathing almost too easily turning on his dark counterpart. Tan cheeks became flustered and red as Sonic's breathing became harder. Their rushed hormones and virginity making their actions oh so arousing, Sonic hopped on top of Shadow's lap, claiming that spot as his as he continued to sloppily kiss his mate.

Knowing Shadow didn't know what to do, and from watching his fare share of porn, Sonic grabbed Shadow's hands and placed them on his waste. The feeling of someone else's hands touching him in such a way made his body tingle in the best way possible.

When he leaned forward to connect their bodies once more, he immediately felt something _large _between them. Upon looking down, Sonic blushed immensely, his whole face showing complete shock that his partner was completely aroused already.

"Damn, Shadow.."

Shadow followed his gaze and saw his member at full length,"I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do."

Sonic smirked deviously was he slowly crawled off his lover's lap and kneeled between his ebony legs. Green eyes looked into crimson, lust eveloping them both. Before Shadow could question what the blue hedgehog was going to do, his peach lips kissed the tip of his member that sent a shiver throughout his body.

His pink tongue shot out and licked the tip of his penis, loving the sweet yet salty taste of the pre-cum that was leaking out. Before he could even remember if he had a gag reflex, Sonic took his partners whole member in his mouth, bobbing his head up and down.

Shadow subconsciously gripped onto the couch's armrest with his left hand while his right grabbed onto Sonic's quills as he bobbed up and down on his cock.

Sonic used his saliva to cover the cock in his mouth before pulling away completely. Spitting in his fingers, he rubbed the liquid between his legs where his tail hole was at to make the next move smoother.

Shadow watched in anticipation, if the first thing Sonic did was great, the next thing he did would be even better. The blue hedgehog perked his tail and lined up with Shadow's member, taking a deep breath, he slowly let gravity pull his body down as Shadow entered his body.

The ebony furred male gave off a throaty and deep moan, enveloped by the pure bliss he was being dug into. Sonic winced un pain at the unfamiliar feeling entering himself, but he continued onward, waiting for the pleasure to kick in.

He paused when he realized Shadow's whole member was inside him, his body getting used to the feeling of a foreign object in his most vulnerable part of his body.

Shadow gripped onto blue hips, the devious look now transfixed onto Sonic, his eyes showing nothing but lust and love with a mix of hopefulness.

Using his strength and his hips, Shadow flipped them over on the couch with himself on top and Sonic on the bottom with his legs wrapped around Shadows torso. His primal instincts kicking into high gear as he slowly started to pump his member in and out of the blue body beneath him.

Sonic basically purred and moaned hoarsely as his own member twitched, begging to be played with. Removing his glove, Sonic's peach hand grabbed onto his own cock and started to pump himself in rhythm with Shadow's thrusts. They moaned in sync, Shadow's thrusts became harder and rougher as he neared climax.

Bending down, Shadow burried his face in the crook of Sonic's neck, breathing in the musky scent of his lover.

Sonic took this opportunity to whisper in Shadow's ear,"I'm only yours."

This lone sentence drive the ebony male over the edge, he moaned loudly as he came inside of Sonic's right hole.

The feeling and sound of Shadow's cum inside him threw him over the edge, Sonic's dick twitched as cum squirted out onto his peach covered chest.

They panted, both males staring into the others eyes, loving the connection between them.

Laughter soon erupted, both hedgehog's feeling the love and connection and lust that enveloped them. After cleaning themselves up and a quick shower for each, Sonic joined Shadow in his room, both boys snuggling on the twin sized bed.

"I love you, Shadow."

"I love you too, Sonic the hedgehog."


End file.
